Jeanne Arc
by Sir Helios Knight of Valor
Summary: As Jaune lay, covered in blood, with his friends dying or dead, he only had one regret. He wished with all his heart that he could save them... no matter the cost. In response to this wish, his Semblance activates, and he is given a second chance. This time, however, things are going to be a bit... different. Mild swearing.
1. Luck Prevails

**Okay! Right down to business. I hope you enjoy the story. As a heads up, No O.C's will appear in this story. I highly doubt I will ever use O.C's in any context other than cannon fodder.**

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_Jaune felt a strange sense of… comfort, as he lay down, broken and bleeding. Beside him lay Pyrrha, long since dead, having taken a direct hit from a Deathstalker that had been meant for him. Far away, Ren was still fighting, trying to protect the fatally wounded Nora. It was a miracle, really, that she was still breathing._

_Yang and Blake had died almost immediately in the ambush, and Ruby – bless her soul - had bought enough time for everyone else to escape by overcharging her Semblance. She had taken down hundreds… no, probably nearly a thousand Grimm, in a single second, but in return she had consumed all of her aura… all of her soul._

_Weiss had cared more for her leader far more than she had let on, stupidly running out to try and save her, despite the fact Ruby was already dead. Before she had made it two steps, however, a Paladin had landed on her, having dropped from a ship hovering above them._

_The White Fang… in a way, Jaune had a lot of respect for what they had done, as much as he hated them for it. Their plan had been brilliantly executed. Even when it seemed the Hunters were stopping their plan, they were in fact just helping it, spreading seeds of doubt and chaos, which gradually grew stronger._

_That didn't mean he regretted his time spent at Beacon – far from it. Those two years had been the best in his life. It was a shame they had been cut short. He growled in annoyance as he thought of that traitor Ironwood, Cinder's father. Apparently hatred for mankind ran in the family, as well as the destructive urge to tear it town. No one had seen what he did coming._

_Ren was sent flying by his enemies, and hit the ground hard, kicking up dirt everywhere. Jaune instinctively knew he was dead. Pyrrha had taught him to trust his instincts like that, and now it was almost… instinct. Jaune laughed at his own joke. He regretted it, however, as he coughed up blood._

_His satisfaction wasn't to say he didn't have any regrets – far from it. He had two. Just two simple regrets. He wished he had been strong enough to save his team… smart enough to see through the disguises to the plan that seemed so obvious now. And he wished he had found out what his Semblance was. He laughed at that, mentally this time. It was such a petty desire considering it was thought during the Apocalypse._

_He heard shouts, and he turned to his right, seeing Cardin running to save him. Jaune smiled. Cardin had become such a good person, such a good man, and such a good friend. There's no better place to bond with your peers than when you're fighting for your lives. When his teammates died, Cardin had realised how… pointless his bullying was, and had learned to treasure those around him._

_Jaune saw a White Fang soldier, with a familiar streak of red hair, approaching Cardin from behind. He tried to call out, but his voice wasn't working, so he watched as Cardin fell in half, a line of red marking a blow that had been faster than Jaune could follow. The soldier, Adam turned to him and walked over, nodding to him before continuing on his way._

_Heh, who would've thought that his childhood friend would still recognise him? They hadn't seen each other since Adam's parents had been alive. It was strange, in a way, that despite being on opposite sides of a war, neither bore the other any hostility or ill intent. They both understood why the other had done what they had done, even if they didn't agree with it. They both respected each other._

_Jaune knew it had been silly of him to have saved Adam's life, especially so early in the war, when killing a high ranking enemy officer would be a great victory. But he had long since decided to live without regretting following his heart. Adam hadn't wanted to join the White Fang, not really. He probably still didn't want to be a part of it._

_Jaune sighed mentally. He usually wasn't so reflective… he supposed this was just part of dying. He was glad the pain had stopped, at least. He was also glad that he was the last of his friends to die, so none of _**them**_ had to grieve _**him**._ Over the years he had caused enough pain for them, albeit unintentionally. __They deserved to rest in peace._

_It was lucky that Ren and Nora had been the last two standing. Team RWBY and Pyrrha had all died thinking their efforts had turned the war around, thinking they had saved their loved ones... and made a difference. Nora and Ren, he knew, would be happy just dying next to each other._

_As for him, well… he saw no better place to die, than one surrounded by the dead bodies of those he most cherished. He did not fear death… he had long since given up that luxury, when his family had been caught up in a crossfire. He had vowed to himself to be stronger, but a long way that had gotten him. Ren could, and had once before, beaten him in a sparring match _**while asleep**_. Good times._

_He just wished he could have a second chance…_

**Again.**

_A voice in his head replied. Jaune frowned, or would have if it wasn't so painful. Where had that come from?_

**You have done that before, although last time you asked to forget.**

_The voice continued. Forget? Forget what?_

**What your Semblance is, you idiot.**

_The voice said, annoyed. It was a weird thought that what he assumed was a part of him was getting annoyed at his stupidity._

**Well? You're running out of time. Would you like to use it or what? I thought you valued your friends more than that.**

_My friends? They're dead though._

**Indeed.**

_Jaune wondered if he was going crazy. It wasn't usually to have a conversation with yourself, was it?_

**I am not you. I am a past you.**

_Well… that made no sense, Jaune thought. The voice growled in annoyance._

**I am the _first_ you, and when I discovered and used my Semblance, I got a catch worse than the rest of you.**

_Uh… didn't you just say we are the same person though? Jaune replied._

**Touché. But that is beside the point. Every time we near death, we have a dying wish… a reason to do it all over. For the last five hundred years, I have had to guide the various iterations in their last moments. It is very annoying.**

_Umm… this isn't making much sense._

**That is because of what the last you wished to be. Now, let us be quick, before you fade from this world. What are your regrets?**

_That I didn't save my friends. That I was too weak and stupid._

**Okay, you would like to be strong and smart. How original. None of the previous iterations of us have wished for _that_. It is not like the only one who asked to be weak was the one before you.**

_The voice said, dripping with sarcasm so heavy he could almost feel it._

**But I should not take my annoyance out on me. Well, good luck with that. I suppose I will see you the next time you die. Hopefully you will m-**

_The voice cut off as Jaune's vision started to fade. Everything was turning white, almost like it was beginning to snow, and he felt a chill as the snow touched him. His body went numb, and his vision went blank._

_Well… that was interesting, was his last thought before his mind went blank._

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Jaune was tired, sooooo utterly tired, but his body insisted on waking up without his permission, and had no intention of changing its mind on the matter. He opened his eyes slightly, finding himself staring right up at a familiar ceiling. He closed his eyes again, rolling over with a sigh, only to find his body stopped by an unfamiliar weight around the chest.

Still, he had at least rolled onto his side. He yawned silently, stretching his arms and legs while his mind attempted to gather its thoughts.

**_Well, time to get up, my 'hero'._**

He thought, even though the thought process didn't make much sense.

**_What, no thank you? I even nailed the timing! Geez, people these days._**

Jaune decided he wanted to find his subconscious and punch it.

**_Hey, I heard that!_**

Jaune sighed again, standing up wearily. He walked over to his closet, eyes still shut, and pulled out a set of clothing without thinking, walking to the bathroom. His legs seemed to guide him without thought, even though he didn't really have any knowledge of where he was.

He locked the door behind him, tossing his clothing by his towel and quickly taking off his shirt and shorts. Hmm… that wasn't right. Didn't he usually sleep in a onesie? Oh well, Jaune shrugged. He bundled up his clothes and tossed them into the washing pile, instinctively fist pumping, knowing he nailed the shot.

He opened his eyes in front of the mirror, and nearly shrieked in alarm.

The person in the mirror was not him… it couldn't be, that was for sure, but as he moved various parts of his body, and the mirror did the same, he had no choice but to accept it. But still. What. The. Hell. Was. This.

**_Surprised? You actually picked your own appearance for once, even if it was subconscious. For once I… you… didn't have to do it for you… me. Man, this is confusing._**

Aaand she was talking to herself as if she was a different person. Yep, she was crazy, Soon enough she would wake up, finding this had all been a terrible dr-

Wait, she?

**_Of course! You do eventually have to get used to it, so I'm here to help you along the way. This is what I meant by I have a worse catch with oversight, all you need to do is adjust do being the other gender. Something about timelines, and paradoxes, I really don't know or care how or why. And you're not talking to _yourself_… your talking to… yourself._**

_Glad we cleared that up_, Jaune thought, rolling her eyes

**_Shut up._**

_So you're me?_

**_Yep._**

Jaune hit himself in the face. Worth it.

**_You realise I can't feel your pain, right?_**

Damn it, she thought to herself. _Okay, seriously, why the hell am I female?_ Jaune demanded mentally.

**_Like I said, you subconsciously chose this. All the strongest and smartest people you knew were female, so when you were mentally designing a stronger, smarter you…_**

Jaune sighed. _Please tell me you are joking._

**_Nope. Now enough of this, I've done my job, I'm off._**

With that, Jaune felt the presence in her mind fade. She hadn't even been aware of it until it was gone. She bit her lip, slowly looking back at the mirror as if hoping what was there would change, even though she instinctively knew the other her had been telling the truth.

Before her stood a naked woman, who looked kind of what Jaune would imagine himself as, if she were female. Jaune was _very_ glad to find that, as she was staring at her body, she felt no sexual attraction at all, and it actually felt somewhat normal.

Wait… if she wasn't attracted to girls… did that mean she was attracted to guys? Jaune started having a panic attack. What if she was attracted to someone like _Cardin?_ Suddenly, Jaune calmed down, repulsed by the thought. If she was repulsed by the thought of men, that meant she wasn't attracted to them, right? She thought of women in a similar context, and was once again repulsed by the idea.

Did this mean she was… what was the word, asexual? That was it. Seemed like it. She sighed in relief, and took a few seconds to study his… _her_… new features. Her eyes were blue, like his had been, however a lot brighter, and with weird flecks of black. They captured a LOT of attention, even just looking in the mirror, and even though they were her eyes, she felt like she could stare in to them all day.

Her face was just as pale as before, only a lot smoother. She no longer had a strong jaw, and her face was actually quite feminine. Although come to think of it, it had been feminine to start with, she thought in embarrassment. Her hair was another attention catching detail. The right side reached past her shoulders, while the left barely reached her cheek, and both sides had spiked ends. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the length varied, bits of her hair reaching a few inches shorter, and alternating with the original length.

Her shoulders and arms were clearly strong, although the muscles were nowhere near as prominent as they had been before, after Pyrrha's intensive training. She was… well endowed, she thought, and was surprised that she wasn't embarrassed by the thought. The more she looked at it, the more… normal and familiar her body seemed. Her eyes gazed down further. She had a nice figure, good legs, and Jaune got bored, deciding it didn't really matter as long as she had a general idea of her appearance. For some reason, this whole thing was no longer nearly as interesting as she had first thought.

She sighed and got in the shower, deciding she may as well get ready for the day.

While showering, the thought back, wondering where she even was. Immediately, dozens of memories sprung to mind. Her father was flying her in from Atlas on their private airship because she got invited to attend Be-

Wait, private airship? Her father didn't have one of those… and INVITED to Beacon? The only person in HISTORY she knew had been invited had been Ruby. And why was she in Atlas anyways?

Jaune shook her head. None of this was right, but even so they were her memories. They just happened to conflict with other memories.

Right, so what else could she remember? She had never been to a combat school. Okay, no change there. She was a natural prodigy with her sword, and had entered a few tournaments, only to stop because of how boringly easy they had been. Okay… so she was a _really_ good fighter. That was good, at least.

Hmm… Invited to Beacon, rather than having to apply, meaning she must've caught their attention somehow.

Before she knew it, she was snapped out of her thoughts as she looked back in the mirror, fully dressed for the day, and wearing light makeup she had no idea how she put on. Wow… it seemed she was REALLY good at multi-tasking… she hadn't even been aware she was out of the shower.

She walked back into her room, which was really bland, with grey walls, and nothing but a bed and a closet. She was always one for simplicity.

Once again, Jaune knew this wasn't true, but at the same time knew it was, and it was giving her a serious headache, so she ignored that for now, deciding to just roll with it. She walked to her closet, which was completely empty apart from a single suitcase, which she picked up effortlessly. Wow, this thing was light, despite its enormous size. Jaune chuckled, knowing she could easily fit in the suitcase. That was how big it was.

She stepped out of her room, instinctively walking down a path through the twisting and turning halls, finding herself at the airship exit. Before her lay Beacon academy, she could see through the window, and the ship was currently docking. She felt a hand descend upon her shoulder, and turned to the source. It was her father, still looking the same as ever.

"Well, Jeanne. Here it is." Her father said awkwardly, and she chuckled slightly. He was never very socially adept.

"Indeed, it would appear so. I suppose I shall soon depart." Jaune replied, the words feeling strange out of her mouth. Why was she talking so formally?

"Good luck. Always remember, your family is proud of you."

Jaune bowed, stepping outside as soon as the ramp descended. The airship took off almost immediately. She stood, looking around the crowd. She immediately saw Ruby being harassed by Weiss in their own little private sector. Most of the other students had already entered the school. There was an explosion and some more chatter, with Blake interjecting, only for Blake and Weiss to both leave. Just like last time.

Jaune started making her way over, smiling lightly. Some things never change, but perhaps this time… She would be strong enough to save them.

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**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Adaptation

**Thank you all very much for the overwhelming positive feedback and support! It means a lot to me. As such, chapter two will be coming out... well, right now! Nearly a week ahead of schedule. That is the good part about posting a few chapters behind where I am currently up to. Thank you all very much, and I hope I do not disappoint you with the rest of the Fic!**

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"So, are you feeling okay, crater face?" Jaune asked, pulling Ruby up from the ground.

"Hey!" Ruby pouted. "My name is Ruby!"

"Jeanne Arc," Jaune replied, bowing slightly and releasing her hand. She suddenly had a mischievous idea, remembering how she had first introduced herself to Ruby. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue… Ladies love it," She finished, winking coyly at Ruby.

Ruby made a noise, not expecting the flirtatious behaviour, and became flushed. Jaune smiled in response. The two started walking off; Ruby leading without meaning too, and Jaune knew that once again, they were going the wrong way. She had memorised Beacon's layout, but this was Ruby's first time even seeing the Academy. They fell into a companionable silence, but Jaune could tell Ruby was feeling awkward. She probably didn't realise Jaune had only been flirting as a joke.

"Just out of curiosity, are you not younger than the rest of the students?" Jaune asked.

Ruby became embarrassed, averting her gaze slightly. "Umm… yeah, I'm fifteen."

"Then you must be an impressive fighter, to have been let in two years early."

"W-well not really, I just stopped a robbery." Ruby said self-consciously, trying to pass it off as a small deal. Jaune knew she always had trouble accepting compliments, yet despite this, she had chosen to be a Huntress, a career that would place her in the spotlight.

Jaune chuckled. "You should adapt to receiving praise, even if you feel you do not deserve it. Someone with your talent will need too."

Ruby blushed again, averting her gaze further. "Everyone in Beacon is a great fighter, I'm nothing special. You haven't even seen me fight yet, how would you know?" Ruby replied.

Jaune tapped her nose knowingly, and said nothing. The two once again fell into a silence, which a hyperactive Ruby couldn't tolerate.

"Soo… I got this thing," Ruby declared, trying to get a conversation going and pulling out her scythe. Jaune smiled, Ruby always was a weapon maniac.

"A customisable, high impact sniper rifle. Impressive," Jaune replied. Ruby beamed.

"You knew what it was!" Ruby shouted in excitement, glad to find a fellow weapons maniac. "So what've you got?"

Jaune opened her mouth to reply, but then stopped as he wasn't actually sure. She didn't have Crocea Mors on her waist. "It's in my suitcase." Jaune said confidently, gesturing to it, and even though it was a guess, she knew somehow that it was right. "You will see it during the Initiation ceremony."

Ruby pouted. "Can't you give me a hint?"

Jaune smiled and ruffled Ruby's hair. "It is custom, like your Scythe." Another guess, but once again she felt it was right. "Now perhaps we should stop the tour of the grounds and head to the main hall."

Ruby stopped, looking around. "I was wondering where we were going."

"Follow me." Jaune said, walking in what she knew was the correct direction.

"Why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?" Ruby asked.

"You looked like you needed a friend." Jaune replied.

"So… we're friends?"

"It would seem that way." Jaune replied, smiling, and Ruby beamed.

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Yang called out the second they walked in.

"Oh, sorry… I have to go. It was nice talking to you, Jeanne!" Ruby said, scuttling off, and Jaune chuckled. Even through a war, Ruby had barely changed in personality. She had a way of just… making people feel happy, a great feature in a leader. Jaune felt eyes on her, and turned to see Pyrrha staring at her. When she met Pyrrha's gaze, Pyrrha blushed and turned away.

_That was odd_, Jaune thought, turning and walking to a somewhat empty corner. She didn't need to hear Ozpin's speech again, once had been enough, and if she kept having conversations with her friends, who didn't know her, they might think something was up.

She thought of her conversation with Ruby, and how she didn't have Crocea Mors on hand. That meant she had likely not received it, for some reason. Crocea Mors… She felt a stab of pain at the name, and a feeling of betrayal. She frowned, wondering why that thought had elicited such a response.

She was snapped from her thoughts when someone walked up to her.

"Good day, ma'am." The faceless individual started. "I couldn't help but notice your radiant beauty, and I was wonder-"

"Thank you for your offer, but I am not interested." Jeanne interrupted politely, feeling annoyed. That was actually a fairly rude and shallow thing to do, when they didn't even know each others names. It meant all they cared about was her looks, and thought of her as some object to be acquired.

Once again, Jaune mentally slapped herself. Where had _that_ come from?

The student walked off, visibly embarrassed.

She looked over and saw Weiss sarcastically talking to Ruby.

"Yeah! And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like… Tall, Dark haired and passive over there!" She said, gesturing to Ren, and Jaune would've doubled over in laughter if she had no self control. As it was, she still flinched as if she had been hit in the gut, looking around the crowd quickly, and feeling relieved Nora hadn't heard. She was also glad to see Ren hadn't, as if might have caused future interaction between the two to be awkward.

She looked up, and saw Ozpin had begun giving his speech, and she immediately tuned him out. Instead she watched the crowd, and saw Weiss, Ruby and Yang standing awkwardly together. Despite her apparent hate for the girl, Weiss still seemed to want to be around the optimist. Jaune mentally laughed, the two had always been awkward around each other, but even so always went out of their way to please the other.

Ozpin finished his short speech, and Glynda directed the first years to sleep in the ballroom. Jaune saw students begin swarming the exits and sighed, deciding to wait until those around her had cleared out. She instead headed to the locker room, unpacking her weapon and armour from the case. The weapon was huge, and didn't seem to have a shield, and the armour, even at first glance was vastly different from her previous armour. But she would deal with that problem when she came to it.

Why did she have bulky armour anyway? The reason she had previously used it was because she hadn't unlocked her aura, but even that was much less substantial. This looked like solid plate mail.

The suitcase was almost empty now, most of the weight and space having been the armaments. Inside were a few spare sets of clothing, and five sets of the girl's school uniform. _I'm well prepared_, she thought to herself with a chuckle. She took the time to get a better idea of what her outfit was like.

She was wearing some kind of gold dress, with silver stockings underneath. She had a brown unbuttoned jacket and a yellow shirt, with red fingerless gloves that went to her elbow. It was an… odd colour scheme, but it seemed to work. The clothes were also made of some very good quality material, and were incredibly comfortable.

When she closed the suitcase, she was surprised to find it collapsed in on itself, becoming a much smaller size, almost the size of a purse. _It could collapse and expand?_ She thought in amazement. That was some incredibly advanced technology for such a silly use, although it was very convenient.

She sighed, noticing several other students beginning to enter the locker room. She quickly shut her locker, taking note of the number. 636. Jaune turned and headed to the ballroom, deciding she could try to get an early night.

Arriving without hassle, she lay a sleeping bag down against a wall, as out of the way as possible, and lay down, checking her scroll. Six P.M. Jaune sighed, reaching into her suitcase and pulling out a book without thinking. 'A tale of two cities'. Apparently, she was more than a third of the way into the book, but as Jaune had no memory of any of the content, she removed her bookmark and started from the beginning.

It was actually quite interesting, and Jaune found herself understanding words she previously hadn't. Another advantage, she supposed, quickly becoming absorbed in the story, which was surprising. She could tell by the style of writing that she would normally find it mind-numbingly boring. It seems a lot of minor things had changed without her notice.

She heard someone else approach, and lay down to right. She spared a quickly glance, and it was Blake, who lit some candles and pulled out a book of her own. Jaune smiled, that was the equivalent of a hug from Blake, she was usually quite reclusive when it came to strangers. Perhaps she recognised Jaune as a kindred spirit. Or, more likely, she thought when glancing around the room, Blake had decided a fellow reader might be less loud and obnoxious that the rest in the room. Besides, the spot Jeanne had chosen wasn't occupied apart from the two.

Jaune turned back to his book, only to be interrupted by more footsteps. Man, people could be loud.

"Hellooooo!" A familiar voice called out. Oh yeah, she had forgotten about this moment. "I believe you two may know each other?"

Blake looked hesitantly up from her book. "Aren't you that girl that exploded?"

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby, but y-"  
"You can just call her 'crater face'," Jaune interjected, smirking slightly.

"As, Jeanne, didn't see you there!" Ruby said awkwardly. Fair enough, Jaune thought to herself. After all, she was sitting just outside range of Blake's candles. The chandeliers on the ceiling shed... amazingly little light.

"Oh?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow. "So this is the infamous Jeanne I heard about?"

Blake looked at Jeanne, confused by the sudden interjection. Ruby stopped Yang, and the two had a quiet discussion quickly, and Jaune turning back to her book.

"So… what's your name?" Yang asked.

Blake sighed again, putting down her book in defeat.

"Blake."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang! Ruby's older sister! I like your bow!"

"Thanks." Blake responded, irritated.

"It goes great with your… pyjamas!"

Jaune resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Last time she had tuned out far earlier in this conversation, and didn't realise just how bad Yang was at improvisation.

"Right…?" Blake replied.

Ruby laughed awkwardly. "Nice night, don't you think?" Yang continued.

"Yes – it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!" The sisters continued to stand there, seemingly oblivious. "That I will continued to read…" Blake elaborated. The two still didn't get it. "As soon as you leave."

Finally Yang seemed to get the message. "Yeah, this girl's a lost cause."

"What's it about?" Ruby asked.

"Huh?"

"Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well… i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

Jaune tuned out the conversation, realising it would probably go on for a while. Instead, she bookmarked her page, put her book away and began going to sleep. She heard a bit of ruckus, but was quickly able to ignore it, feeling it fade away into the background. By the time Blake blew out her candles, Jaune was already asleep.

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Jeanne ran forward to meet her foe, a hulking Beowulf. It was an alpha among alphas, easily twice her height, with arms and legs like tree trunks. In her arms was a sword, its grip a perfect match for her hands, perfectly balanced and almost weightless. It truly was a terrific blade. The Beowulf swung one of its massive claws in a rapid attack at her head. She raised the sword to block.

And it snapped. The front half of the blade fell to the ground, leaving a jagged edge instead of the once razor sharp blade. Jeanne growled in annoyance, activating her Semblance. She felt a chill wash over her, quickly spreading out, and the Beowulf stopped mid lunge. She calmly walked up to it and jabbed her sword… or what was left of it, through the beast's skull, leaving it there and walking off.

She turned off her Semblance, and heard a satisfactory thunk as the beast hit the ground, as well as the sound of the blade shattering loudly. Her father stood at the edge of the clearing, having been ready to intervene should it have been necessary. She had told him it would not be.

Jeanne growled in annoyance. "That was the third sword this week! Why are blacksmiths forging weapons of such poor quality?"

"Calm down, Jeanne. They do their best with limited resources. Not everyone can make a masterpiece like Crocea Mors."

Jeanne winced at the name of that blade, and her father immediately stepped back, knowing that had been the wrong thing to say. Carelessness would not get one very far, and he knew Jeanne was still prickly about that particular subject.

"I'm your eighth child! EIGHTH! And you are still going to try for another, just so you may have a son to pass that weapon on too? Does it not deserve to be in the hands of a warrior, rather than whatever child happens to be born male? What difference should ones gender make in what weapon they use?" She snapped.

"Jeanne, it is tradition…" Her father replied weakly.

"What if the boy does not want to fight? Will you make him pick up and use the blade, are you that desperate to get your child killed simply because you wish to dictate their life?"

"Jeanne…" He said softly.

Jeanne looked away sharply, a tear beginning to well in her eye. "No ordinary blade can withstand my Semblance, you know this. With the spirits of my ancestors aiding me, I would be almost unstoppable in combat. And yet you retain that blade simply because of a meaningless tradition."

"It is _because_ of that tradition that the blade is so special, you know this, Jeanne. If the blade's nature is conflicted, it would become nothing more that a brittle relic."

Jeanne stood up, shoulders back and donning a look of detachment. "Very well, then I shall have to make my own blade, since apparently I am not... _worthy_, of a family heirloom." She said, stomping off through the woods.

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Jeanne stood over the forge, coated in sweat after hours upon hours of work, yet continued with the slow, precise work ignoring the immense strain on her muscles. The blade was nearly finished anyway, and putting it down now could damage it, which would be a shame after nearly ten hours work on it. But it had been worth it.

She studied the blade, which was immaculate and perfectly forged. After hundreds of attempts over the past three years, she had finally made the perfect blade. There wasn't a single blemish, not a single weak spot that might cause she blade to brittle with age, nor was there any part of the metal that wasn't shining a bright silver, rather than the usual dull grey. She had poured her very soul into this blade, literally. Her aura was infused with the metal itself, and as she moved it around she could hear it hum in response to her touch.

The blade was longer than most would consider practical, nearly as long as she was tall, and had dust weaved into the very fabric of the metal of which it was comprised. The grip fit her hand perfectly, as if she had spent years wearing it out through practise. The weapon truly was a masterpiece.

She felt a tear slide down her cheek, the first tear she had shed in the three years she had worked on the project, and saw it fall onto the blade, leaving the tiniest of indentations. She smiled, now the blade was even more like her. To most, it would seem perfect and flawless, just as most would act as if she was. She was just better at concealing her flaws then most, but people were too stupid to realise that. But closer study by those who knew what to look for, and they would be able to see it.

She started work on the final touch, carving the blade's name into the handle. Many would have trouble naming their weapons, but when you spent hundreds of hours to get where you were, it was almost instinctual. _Cruentus Mors…_ That was her blade.

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Jeanne stood nervously in front of a tree. It was not like her to be nervous, but now was the final test, to see if Cruentus Mors would withstand her Semblance. She didn't want it to break, but if it couldn't then it would be useless… just like every other weapon she had ever been allowed to wield. It did not matter how perfect the sword was, how well made, none could withstand the sheer pressure her Semblance put them through.

She took up her usual fighting stance, holding her sword parallel to the ground in front of her, and activated it. She felt the familiar pulse of energy, and everything around her ground to a halt. She took a few hesitant steps closer to the tree, cutting her sword through it like it wasn't there.

A line appeared where the blow would effect, as usual, but as of yet, the tree was not affected. She stepped back and deactivated her Semblance. Suddenly, the tree exploded in motion, a huge hole appearing around the cut she had made, causing the top half of the tree to be sent flying. Jeanne leapt out of the way, seeing it had been about to hit her.

She looked down at her sword, which was still intact, and quickly checked it over for damage. She beamed and jumped up in joy, before quickly looking around in embarrassment to see if anyone had been nearby. Luckily no one was.

Her sword hummed stronger, as if in response to her happy mood, and she quickly went to work clearing off the scraps of tree that had landed on it, returning it to its previous shining form. It had started to rain, but that did not dampen her mood in the slightest. She sheathed her sword and turned, jogging back towards her home.

* * *

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* * *

Jeanne's eyes snapped open, and she sat up immediately, feeling completely awake and alert. She checked her scroll and groaned, realising it was only five in the morning. Well, she always was an early riser. Wait, that wasn't right. Jeanne, no, Jaune, grabbed her head in her hands, shaking it to try and clear her thoughts. Okay… so as time went on, it seemed her thought process was changing to match his new body. She stood up, taking a change of clothes from her suitcase and heading to the changing room.

She had to mentally stop herself, going into the women's changing room rather than the men's, and Jaune chuckled. That would've been awkward if someone else had walked in, although she suspected no one else would use them for now. She may not be attracted to girls anymore, but it would still be awkward.

Back to the problem at hand… although was it really a problem if she was changing to fit her environment? But still, it wouldn't really be her, would it. Did it really matter though, if it meant she could save her friends?

Jaune groaned in frustration, pushing the thought from her head. It would either happen, or it wouldn't, there was nothing she could do about it. For now, she would just have to take things one at a time, and plan to stop Cinder. Whatever she had to go through to do it, she would.

Jaune was once again snapped out of her thoughts by her own image, staring back at her from a mirror. Her hair was damp, indicating she had showered, and she was fully dressed and ready for the day. She checked the time, and over half an hour had passed. She really needed to stop spacing out.

But what were those dreams she had experienced last night? Were they her memories? They would certainly fill a gap in her past, although it didn't make sense that she would remember them while asleep, although it could prove vital, as she now had a general idea of what her Semblance did. It would also probably help with her surprise at seeing her weapon, if she already knew what it was. Cruentus Mors… Bloody death.

Jaune chuckled. Well, that was a fairly violent name, although she imagined it was fitting for a weapon, especially given what she had seen her Semblance could do. If a single cut to a tree made it look as though it had been shot by a cannon, one could only imagine what would happen to a human… Perhaps she would find out against Cinder. There was no saving someone like that, and she knew Cinder was far too smart to be captured, even by someone with knowledge of future events.

Still, Jaune felt somewhat squeamish at the prospect of killing someone. After all, she was a Huntress, whose task was to protect humanity from the creatures of Grimm… taking a life was a disgusting thought, no matter the circumstances.


	3. Initiation

**Okay, once again an early chapter, again as a thank you because you guys are freaking awesome. This is the last early chapter though, or I might actually catch up to where I am working on. Thank you all for your support and constructive criticism, it has aided me greatly.**

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* * *

Jaune walked into the locker room, feeling embarrassed and ashamed, keeping her head low. After she had gotten ready for the day, she had laid back down to read, only to become so engrossed in her book that Yang herself, ever a slow waker, was already fully equipped in her combat uniform, completely ready for initiation before she realised she should get back up. She probably wouldn't have noticed if Nora hadn't been so loud about waking Ren.

Luckily, however, she managed to arrive at roughly the same time she had the first time around. She really hadn't been very good with directions back then… Jaune could tell, because as she passed the two, Weiss was all but flirting with Pyrrha, wanting her as a teammate. Jaune quickly retrieved her sword, and the armour for her right arm, managing to put them on before she heard her 'cue' to interject in the conversation, strapping her sword to her back on the way.

"You know what else is great? Me, Jeanne Arc. Nice to meet you." Jaune said jokingly, stepping between Weiss and Pyrrha. Immediately, Weiss face palmed in annoyance and Jaune mentally chuckled. Weiss' annoyance was amusing, which had actually been the reason Jaune had started flirting originally. Her feelings had been there, sure, but normally he would never have been able to muster up the confidence. But, this time he did _not_ want to convince Weiss to be on his team, nor to go out with him. It was just fun.

"Nice to meet you, Jeanne." Pyrrha interjected, stepping between the two, with a strangely hopeful face.

"Just the person I wanted to talk to. I have been hearing rumours about teams, and was thinking you and me would make a good one, with your dazzling good looks." Jaune replied, doing her best to remember how she had handled it originally. If things stayed mostly the same when it didn't matter, it would make it easier for her to change things when it did. Still, she needed to change things slightly to give her an excuse to speak with her teammate. If Pyrrha thought she was flirting with her, that would provide one.

Strangely, Pyrrha began blushing slightly.

"Jeanne, is it?" Weiss began, stepping between the two. "Do you have any idea who you are talking too?"

"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." Jaune lied smoothly.

"This," Weiss said, gesturing dramatically, "is Pyrrha."

"Hello again!" Pyrrha interjected amiably.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

"Never heard of it." This time, she wasn't lying. Jaune really should have taken the time to research his friend's past. He did have a _lot_ of down time in his second year, after Cardin had matured.

Weiss scoffed. "She's won the Mistral regional tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"

"The what?"

At this stage, Weiss could barely contain her anger, and began shaking her arms up and down with inhuman speed. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's marshmallow flakes box!"

Jaune gasped, exaggerating as much as he possibly could while still sounding sincere. "That's _you_? But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

Pyrrha looked embarrassed, and Jaune felt a slight pang of guilt until she saw Weiss. Weiss was uncomprehendingly done with Jaune's feigned idiocy.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you."

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask _her_ to be on your team?" Weiss asked smugly, as if feeling she had cowed Jaune.

"Of course." Jaune said, smiling Weiss visibly flinched, and Pyrrha looked confused, so Jaune elaborated. "We are in a school of bright people, each having done incredible things to earn their place here. However, none of that matters anymore, people will only judge you based on how you act. Pyrrha has been kind and friendly, and as such, it would be an honour to be on the same team as such a lovely lady."

Pyrrha blushed profusely. "Well, I believe the teams are composed of four students each, so-"

"I will _not_ be on a team with this… BUFFOON!" Weiss declared angrily, storming out. As if on cue, the announcers blared to life.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." Came the voice of Glynda Goodwitch.

"It was nice meeting you!" Pyrrha said, walking off confidently.

"Likewise!" Jaune declared. She turned to leave, only to look down and saw she only had a small amount of her armour on, and mentally cursed herself.

"Having some trouble, lady-killer?" Yang asked jokingly from behind.

"I forgot to don my armour."

"Oh… well, that must suck. You don't exactly have any time to put the rest on, do you?"

"Indeed I do not."

"Well, come on, Jeanne. Let's go." Ruby said calmly, leading the two behind her.

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* * *

Jaune stood on the far right launch pad, once again bored as Ozpin delivered one of his renowned speeches. This time, however, she had no choice but to pay attention and act stupid in the hopes of Pyrrha saving her again, and thus becoming her partner. It wasn't to say Ozpin's speeches weren't awesome – He really had a flair for the dramatic – but if anyone payed close attention, they would notice her incompetence was out of character. Also, dramatic speeches weren't dramatic if you had heard them before.

Still, it was genuinely painful for Jaune to make people think she was hopeless. Apparently, she had a lot more pride than she used to. But it would be worth it if it meant teaming with Pyrrha, and after today, she would be able to stop one way or the other.

She felt her mouth on autopilot, and was instead paying attention to how the others launched, as the plates had started the flinging. Each of their poses were actually a good indication of how they fought. Cardin, who fought with brute strength, was posed like a bear. Ren was posed in a martial arts manoeuvre. Ruby was looking like she was ready to bolt. It then occurred to Jaune that she was next, and she was unable to prepare herself for the sudden fling, flailing wildly in an attempt to regain balance.

Jaune growled. Feigning stupidity was one thing, but if it wasn't intentional that just meant she was stupid. She finally managed to right herself, only for a nearby tree come flying out at her face. She thought quickly, activating her Semblance as she crashed into it, deactivating it immediately. The tree exploded, and she breathed a sigh of relief, realising she had successfully transferred her momentum. She landed in the crater that had once been a tree gracefully.

She wasn't sure how it worked entirely, but it made sense Jaune's Semblance would be able to stop her taking force, or she would've died every time she used it, for the same reason that it gave results. Because time was frozen briefly, technically any blow she delivered during that was instantaneous, and thus held an amazing amount of force. By rights, her body should be torn to shreds by the usage.

Jaune remembered something her father had once told her – in the Arc family history, their Semblances would always act as a shield. She laughed slightly. Well, a good offense was the best defence, and that meant her Semblance was doing a wonderful job. She had beaten that tree into the _ground_.

Pyrrha's spear slammed into the crater besides her, snapping her back to reality. "Thank you!" Jaune called out loudly.

"I'm sorry!" Came a faint response, and Jaune sat by the weapon, deciding to wait for its owner to retrieve it. That is what had happened last time, and if Pyrrha had thrown it, she would have to come and get it. Jaune smiled, glad she would be able to have her partner again. She doubted she could ever trust someone as much as she trusted Pyrrha.

She heard footsteps, and turned to the source, only to quickly avert her gaze. As if on cue, Weiss barged through, and Jaune felt his heart start racing. That could've ended badly, had they made eye contact, as last time she had only rejected him because he flirted with her. As it was, Weiss luckily turned and walked back where she had come from, and he heard Ruby shout excitedly at the fact.

"Jeanne?" Pyrrha called out. Jaune turned to the source, and smiled up at Pyrrha. She threw Miló, Pyrrha's spear, back up to the girl, who caught it seamlessly. Jaune bowed low.

"It is an honour, thine fair maiden. I thank you kindly for your assistance."

"What happened to the tree?" Pyrrha asked awkwardly.

"My Semblance. It is probably best to leave it at that for now." She replied, walking up to Pyrrha and offering her arm in a polite manner. Pyrrha took the arm, and Jaune allowed her to lead the way, knowing that ultimately it would lead to the Deathstalker. After all, the fight had been a great bonding moment for her and her team.

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* * *

A series of quiet, far away bangs echoed through the forest.

"Do you hear that?" Jaune asked.

"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy," Pyrrha stated. She continued walking, raising a branch to pass by. Jaune ducked as the branch whizzed over him.

"Jeanne! I'm sorry!"

"Fear not, fair maiden. The blow did not connect." Jaune replied, once again bowing, and saw a slight blush appear on Pyrrha's face. It made sense, considering last time Pyrrha had been the one flirting with her.

Jaune stopped. Wait, Pyrrha had been _flirting _with her? HOW HAD SHE NOT REALISED THIS! It was so _obvious_ now that she was thinking back on it. She decided if she ever ran into her past self, she would punch him in the face, and immediately felt really, really bad for Pyrrha. Nearly four years of flirting, and Jaune hadn't even recognised the attempts, let alone validated them. She had been as thick as a rock. Maybe one punch was too generous; maybe add in a kick to the gut.

"Jeanne, are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, sorry. I spaced out. I am very well, especially with someone as lovely as you in my presence." Pyrrha flushed again. Wait… did this mean Pyrrha still had feelings for Jaune? She immediately felt a stab of guilt, knowing she held no attraction to Pyrrha this time through. She then shook her head, and decided that due to how thick she had previously been, if Pyrrha asked her out she would accept. She owed Pyrrha at least a date, probably much more.

After all, she thought in embarrassment, she had previously had feelings for Pyrrha too, just had felt she had been too good for her, and that perhaps she would ruin their friendship. So this time through, she would try to make Pyrrha feel as special as she could.

"Jeanne? You're spacing out again." Pyrrha added.

Jaune felt herself become flushed. "Oh… sorry."

"Let's keep walking." Pyrrha said, as more and more gunshots sounded in the distance, as well as a few explosions. Jaune saw a familiar cliff, with a familiar entrance shortly up ahead, and immediately started walking towards it.

"Think this is it?" She asked rhetorically, quickly making a torch with a branch that had fallen nearby.

"I'm not sure this is it," Pyrrha replied.

Jaune lead the way, torch in hand, down the corridor. She tripped slightly, managing to regain her balance, but intentionally dropped the torch, which sputtered out in the puddle that had been there.

"Do you… feel that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Soul-crushing embarrassment?"

"No, it's… warm."

The two continued following the cave, although more slowly, until a light source appear in their vision. Jaune smiled, the Deathstalker's tail.

"That's the relic!" She proclaimed, stepping forward and grabbing it. Immediately it raised her off the ground.

"Jaune…?" Pyrrha began, worried, as the eyes of the Deathstalker opened.

The Deathstalker started barrelling after Pyrrha, chasing her out of the cave. Jaune held onto it's tail… hey, it was a free ride, after all, however she let go once they were outside, as the Deathstalker had stopped.

"WOOOO!" She screamed in excitement. "That was AWESOME!"

The Deathstalker looked at her, as if realising she was just there, and Jaune immediately turned and bolted, Pyrrha hot on her tail.

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* * *

As they neared the temple, the Deathstalker still on their heel, Jaune mentally cursed herself, having forgotten she had previously saved Ruby from her fall. What if she had been seriously hurt? She spared a quick glance in the direction she knew Ruby resided, and was glad to see she seemed fine. Yang had probably caught her, she thought gratefully. If she changed too many events, team RWBY might not end up delaying Cinder's plans, or even worse, _changing_ them. As it stood, she had a general idea of the best time to start messing with Cinder, and if she could stop the train in her second semester from crashing into Vale, that would seriously help.

But for that to happen, she couldn't intervene for another semester, she thought with anguish.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Yang yelled loudly, causing Jaune to jump. "CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN!?"

Jaune once again heard a mental clock. The first time, she had thought she was imagining things. But now she knew it was, in fact, Ozpin messing with them. She wasn't the only one with a time manipulating Semblance, and Ozpin liked very much to, well… troll… his students.

"Umm… Yang?" Ruby asked, pointing up. Jaune didn't need to look to know what that was.

"She's gonna fall," Pyrrha stated.

"She'll be fine," Ruby protested.

"She's falling," Ren said passively.

Wait… She had caught Weiss last time, she remembered with alarm. She ignored the Deathstalker, turning to the falling girl, and begun barrelling towards her. Damn it, why was it so hard to remember all of these things? True, they had been years ago, but if one of her friends got hurt because of her, she would never forgive herself.

She made it… barely, tackling Weiss out of the air at the last second and doing a slight roll to stop her momentum. Large gashes of Dirt were flung up by her aura-fuelled speed, and Weiss still landed hard on the ground. The heiress' aura took the damage for her, Jaune was relieved to see.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Pyrrha be flung by a lucky blow from the Deathstalker, and Ruby use her Semblance to try and fight it head on. She felt another stab of alarm, dashing over to make sure Pyrrha was okay, before remembering that Ruby had improved a lot over the years… she couldn't beat that thing on her own yet.

Turning around halfway between destinations, Jaune already knew she would be too late, and saw with alarm Ruby had been pinned down by a Nevermore feather. Yang, who had attempted to rush to Ruby's aid, had also been stopped. Jaune felt a stab of fear, activating her Semblance and feeling time stop around her.

This… this thing, this _stupid MONSTER_ had threatened her friend… Ruby had only been trying to impress Weiss, the naïve girl she was. How _dare_ this thing try to kill her? Jeanne walked forward slowly, absolutely livid, and gradually made her way to the fight. She drew her sword from behind her back, and brought it down on the creature's right claw. The stinger was coming down on Ruby's head, and Jeanne looked up at it, only to immediately notice Weiss, who had been hidden behind a Nevermore feather.

The girl was here to save Ruby… yes, that was right. Jaune felt a stab of guilt and was ashamed at herself for having forgotten. So much for changing as little as possible. Jaune distanced herself from the fight and deactivated her Semblance. Immediately, two things happened. The Deathstalker's claw… well, stopped existing, causing a screech of pain from the Grimm, and Weiss constructed a wall of ice, saving Ruby.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, not having messed things up as badly as she had first thought. Immediately, the ground she had walked across mid-Semblance erupted in dust, obscuring her view of events and creating a long, straight crater. Jaune collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Okay, note to self, do not use Semblance over a long distance.

She could feel those behind her look at her in shock, as she had obviously caused that eruption, but before they could say anything, Ruby and Weiss had returned.

"That is… a wicked Semblance you have there." Yang interjected.

"I would rather not talk about it right now; the Nevermore is looping back around." Jaune replied.

"There's no point in fighting these things. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss interjected.

"She's right," Ruby added. Jaune smiled. Already she could see the friendship between the two forming. She and Ruby walked over to the relics, and Jaune picked up the last remaining white rook, Ruby picking up the white knight, and the two gave each other friendly smiles.

"I'm glad you're okay." Jaune said, and Ruby nodded.

"Time we left." Ren announced, noticing the Deathstalker beginning to break free from its bonds.

"Alright, let's go!" Ruby declared, dashing off back to the cliffs, everyone quickly starting to run after her. They didn't make it very far, arriving at some old ruins as the Nevermore overtook them. It landed on said ruins and roared down at them, causing Jaune to smile, everything was progressing as it should.

"Well that's great!" Yang groaned in frustration. As if on cue, the Deathstalker also caught up to them, crashing through the trees behind them.

"Run!" Jaune yelled.

"Nora, distract it!" Ren commanded, gesturing to the Nevermore. Nora did so immediately, and with alarming glee as she fired her grenade launcher repeatedly. The Deathstalker caught up to her, but Jaune could see Ren and Weiss had it covered, and soon all eight of them were running across a bridge.

Alright, Jaune thought. Three, two, one… The Nevermore smashed through the bridge underneath them, sending them scattering, leaving Pyrrha, Ren and Blake against the Deathstalker. That was a bad match up for Blake, who was immediately slammed down.

"Nora! We have to get over there! They need help!" Jaune called out to Nora.

"Let's do this!" She replied, slightly more serious now.

"Yeah, but… I can't make that jump." Jaune admitted, embarrassed. While it was true she was far stronger, faster and more superior in every way, she still couldn't jump that far. Nora giggled in glee, knocking her over and transforming Magnhild to hammer more, slamming it into the ground and launching Jaune to the other side.

She followed suit, calling out "Smash!" As she hit the Deathstalker with her MechaShifted Magnhild, only for the Deathstalker to be unfazed and strike at her. Jaune watched in amusement as Nora ended up knocking Blake off the bridge. Blake would be fine, she knew from experience.

Jaune turned back to her opponent, feeling much more confident with her team surrounding her now. She heard a string of gunshots in the background as the unofficial team RWBY started fighting the Nevermore, but ignored it as the Deathstalker cut the bridge below them, and the unofficial JNPR all ran forward to meet the Grimm.

It hacked at Pyrrha, who parried and slashed it with Miló, Jaune following up with a slash to its damaged arm, cutting a gash in its armour. It screeched in pain, and stabbed at Ren, who grabbed onto its tail and started shooting at the base. Pyrrha and Jaune leapt back as Nora shot the Deathstalker in the eyes, only for it to block the shot with its remaining claw, and Pyrrha took advantage of the brief moment of blindness to throw her spear with perfect aim.

The Deathstalker screeched in pain as one of its eyes was gouged out, causing it to fling Ren into a nearby wall, and Nora to cry out in alarm.

"Pyrrha! Stinger!" Jaune said, and Pyrrha caught on.

"Done!" She replied, throwing her shield with as much precision as she had her spear, cutting the tail off. The Deathstalker shrieked again as Pyrrha caught her shield, using her Semblance to bring it back to her.

"Nora, nail it!"

"Heads up!" Nora yelled to Pyrrha, jumping up and landing on her shield. With enormous strength, Pyrrha leapt into the air, flinging Nora so high she became a small black dot, which began hurtling back, firing her grenades to increase her speed.

Nora hit it with such force she collapsed the bridge below them, sending them flying next to Ren as the Deathstalker fell down the side off the cliff, its stinger embedded in its skull. Jaune and Pyrrha both stuck the landing, Jaune feeling a surge of pride at not falling on her back like she had last time, and they all looked back at team RWBY, as the Nevermore swooped back around.

Yang was peppering it with shots from Ember Celica, and it was beginning to get annoyed, so it charged her, opening its mouth to swallow her. Yang leapt up, holding the maw open with a foot and a fist, using her free arm to pump multiple shots down its throat, yelling something that was lost in the noise of the bullets. She leapt back out, and the Nevermore crashed face first into the Cliffside.

Weiss and Yang traded places, Weiss pinning the Nevermore to the ground with a well-placed burst of ice, as the rest of the team started taking their positions and forming a Giant slingshot, Weiss adding her aid just as Ruby leapt on. She had a brief conversation with Ruby, before Ruby was flung by the slingshot up at the Giant Grimm, and Weiss formed white Glyphs along the side of the cliff.

Ruby caught the Nevermore by its neck, and started dragging it up the cliff, and Jaune looked on with some concern as Weiss' Glyphs dropped. She was probably out of aura, and Ruby was still only halfway up, and was losing momentum quickly. She wouldn't make it.

"Pyrrha, give me a boost." She leapt onto Pyrrha's shield, and Pyrrha flung her across the ex-bridge. As Jaune landed on the other side, Ruby lost her momentum completely, and the Grimm was still alive. Jaune activated her Semblance, and dashed towards the Grimm, leaping up.

To her surprise, the air was solid beneath her, and she was able to seemingly float, allowing her to make it up to the Nevermore. She stopped at its belly, as hitting the head could hurt Ruby, and cut a gash across the stomach, before allowing her Semblance to fade. The Nevermore exploded as Jaune fell back to the ground, feeling a burst of nausea and exhaustion, as consciousness began to elude her.

She collapsed to the ground as her vision went black.


	4. Chapter 4, The One Not Worthy of a Title

**Hello! I'm back with a new chapter. But first, an explanation regarding the whole Jaune/Jeanne name changes.**

**I did try to be subtle explaining them, but I seem to have messed up the whole subtlety, so I will attempt to explain as bluntly as I can the reasons behind it.**

**Jaune and Jeanne are two different people. Because Jaune needed to retain the memories of future events, Jaune has caused their brain to be forced to simultaneously be two people, which it can't handle. So their brain has… suppressed Jeanne's personality and memories so that Jaune's can exist. This doesn't mean Jeanne is completely gone, and Jaune is still influenced by her, but at the moment, Jaune's personality is in control.**

**However, as Jaune has needed Jeanne's memories, Jaune is also influenced by her personality, meaning their brain needs to work even harder to supress Jeanne. But when Jaune is under extreme stress or unconscious, the brain's default form to take is Jeanne's personality, as it is the original personality, which supresses Jaune instead, until he forces his personality back through.**

**Summed up with a metaphor for those who don't understand:**

**Jaune's subconscious is border patrol, trying to keep immigrants (Jeanne) out of the country. However, when border patrol falls asleep on duty or tunnel visions, immigrants are going to get through, leaving Jaune (police) to try and catch the immigrants to send them back.**

**An example of the differences: Jeanne thinks logically instead of using emotions, studies everything carefully, and is a Huntress out of selfish desire to be stronger. Jaune on the other hand is mostly oblivious to her surroundings, and is a Huntress to protect those she cares about.**

**The scene below is from Jeanne's perspective rather than Jaune's, so that should provide an example of just how different the two are. I hope this explains it, despite how confusing it may be, as I really can't think of any other way to describe it.**

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Jeanne sighed mentally, trying to sit up, but feeling a sharp pain in her chest. The ground was hard, made of some kind of stone. She cracked her eyes open. Above her and slightly to her left was a cliff face. Falling down said cliff face was a Giant Nevermore, which was nearly cut in half down the centre. Clearly her Semblance, she thought, confused. She didn't have any memory of fighting it, but she supposed that didn't matter.

She looked down at her chest, and found a few stones were embedded in it. That would be the cause of the pain, no doubt, which just lead to further confusion. Why wasn't her chest plate on? Her right gauntlet was, but other than her right arm, she was just in normal clothing.

A somewhat familiar face leaned over her, with green eyes and long red hair, and a tan face. The tournament champion, Pyrrhic Nike or something like that? What were they doing here?

"Jeanne! Are you okay?" They asked.

Jeanne rolled back onto her hands, vaulting onto her feet and ignoring the pain in her chest. If she had failed to put on her armour, then she deserved the pain, and her aura would heal it soon enough anyway. She stood up straight, arms behind her back before responding with a simple nod.

The redhead breathed a sigh of relief. "You had us worried for a second there."

Jeanne looked to her right to see who Pyrrhic meant by 'us'. There was a girl with bright orange hair, dressed in a pink and white colour scheme holding a hammer and looking completely unconcerned, and a reserved boy with black hair and a magenta streak, wearing green with a splash of gold, and white pants. The boy's weapon was nowhere to be seen.

So… judging from the unfamiliar faces and location, Jeanne was currently undergoing initiation at Beacon. But why didn't she remember arriving at the academy?

Jeanne dismissed the thought, and focused. If this girl was showing such concern for her, it was likely that they were partners, and judging from the way the other two acted around each other, they were also likely partners. Not romantic though, she thought. They didn't have that kind of feeling between them, although it was possible that they **wanted** to be romantic.

"Do you need a hand getting to the top of the cliff?" Pyrrhic asked.

Jeanne shook her head, feeling a stab of annoyance at the comment. A tiny scratch like this didn't mean she needed to be babied, she was a soldier. She had been hurt far more severely, and was insulting that someone thought otherwise.

But still, she was grateful for the comment, as it had told her where they were meant to go. It could have been embarrassing otherwise, Jeanne didn't think she could bring herself to admit weakness by asking for directions.

She turned to the cliff and started climbing it, using the protruding rocks as hand holds, and stabbing her sword into it when there were none. In the corner of her vision, she saw Pyrrhic hesitate and then follow, with the other two following shortly after. Even with her movement hindered slightly, Jeanne made it to the top in seconds, and leant down to offer Pyrrhic a hand up. She took the hand, and Jeanne lifted the champion to the top of the cliff. After all, if the girl was going to be her teammate, then they would need to be on good terms with each other to maximize efficiency.

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* * *

"Jeanne Arc," the voice of the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, called out. Jeanne took a step forward, head held high, arms crossed behind her back.

"Lie Ren." The boy in green stepped forward, also holding himself with confidence, although seemingly withdrawn.

"Pyrrha Nikos," Ozpin continued. Ah, so that was it. Oh well, Jeanne had been close.

"Nora Valkyrie." The girl with orange hair stepped forward, bouncing with excitement. Jeanne frowned slightly, her obvious hyperactivity was going to be a problem.

"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."

The audience started applauding, and Nora started laughing manically, hugging Ren. The stoic boy seemed uncaring about the events, meaning the two were likely old friends.

"Lead by… Jeanne Arc!" Ozpin announced. Jeanne nodded solemnly, having expected it. Pyrrha playfully punched her shoulder, beaming at her, and Jeanne smiled. It was a shallow, fake smile, but it seemed to do the trick. After all, she was used to faking smiles.

The four walked slightly into the background. "And finally: Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin said, gesturing to four more girls. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY, lead by… Ruby Rose!"

Jeanne studied Ruby thoughtfully, as the girl looked shocked and somewhat nervous. She was easily a year or two younger than the rest of her team, but Jeanne could see that she would make a good leader. The way she held herself expressed a type of natural confidence, despite clearly being shy, and she seemed to care greatly for those around her. That meant she would go out of her way to ensure their safety. Ozpin was a smart man.

One of Ruby's teammates, however, was radiating thinly concealed fury. Weiss Schnee, Jeanne identified her as. No doubt the heiress had expected to be leader. That could prove problematic, as the stubborn, stuck up rich girl may take out her annoyance on Ruby, which may seriously weaken the girl's morale and confidence. Jeanne made a mental note to keep an eye out, and reassure Ruby if it was needed. She couldn't stand people like Weiss. They thought they were superior to those around them because they were rich.

"Jeanne, are you okay?" Apparently Pyrrha had noticed Jeanne's agitation.

"Yes. I am fine."

"It's just that you seem a little… not fine." Pyrrha replied awkwardly.

"I noticed a potential problem, which I may have to deal with. That is all." Jeanne replied curtly, turning back to face the audience.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an… interesting year." Ozpin said quietly, but just loudly enough that everyone on stage could hear him.

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

Jeanne stood over her teammates, who were still asleep. She was fully ready for her first day of classes, having woken up at dawn as was her custom, but it seemed her teammates were heavy sleepers. Jeanne checked the time, and as it was seven, she knew she would have to wake them up. It would take at least an hour and a half for them to unpack and get ready for the day. The Beacon uniforms, she had learned from experience, took adjusting to get on.

She walked over to her teammate's bed, Pyrrha's, and leaned over the sleeping girl. She pressed her hand to one of the girls shoulders and shook it lightly. "Pyrrha. Wake up." She said loudly. The girl didn't budge. Jeanne sighed and reached for the girl's pillow, tugging it from underneath her. Pyrrha still didn't wake, Jeanne noticed with frustration.

Well, so much for a pleasant waking, Jeanne thought with a smirk. She walked over to her own bed, picking up one of the three bowls of ice-cold water she had prepared. Just in case. She walked back over to the girl and dumped it on her.

"AAAHHH!" Pyrrha yelped, leaping up and flailing wildly.

"Good morning." Jeanne said, still smirking.

"WHY?!" Pyrrha demanded, and Jeanne shrugged. Looking over to the other two of her roommates, she sighed in annoyance, as they were both still sleeping soundly.

"You should begin getting ready for the day while I wake the other two. I have no need to unpack my belongings, so you need not worry about space requirements." Jeanne gestured to her suitcase, which currently held her changes of clothes, and a few books.

"You travel lightly…"

Jeanne nodded, walking back over to her bed and picking up another bowl of icy water. She walked over and dumped it on Nora.

"…"

"…"

"You have got to be kidding me." Jeanne said in disgust, heavily exasperated as the girl was still soundly asleep. She took the phrase 'heavy sleeper' to a whole new level. Although Jeanne was glad to find Ren was much easier to wake, and he looked downright furious from the water, although he made no vocal complaints.

"Wake up Nora," Jeanne instructed him. The boy nodded.

"Pancakes." He said simply. Jeanne looked at him in confusion, until she heard the orange haired girl spring up.

"WHERE?" Nora demanded. Jeanne sighed.

"Seriously? A bowl of ice-cold water didn't even cause her to budge."

"You just need to learn how to wake her." Ren said quietly.

"Both of you, get ready for the day and unpack. Classes start in two hours." Jeanne commanded, and the two walked off to do so, with Nora already bouncing and speaking in her rapid-fire way.

"Le… … … c…tr… … … wa…" A voice sounded in her head. Jeanne's eyes sprung open. It sounded like the noise was coming from one of the old radios, filled with static, despite being mental. It made no sense.

"I…. s… … you…" The noise continued. Jeanne felt a stab of white-hot pain in her forehead, and collapsed to the ground, barely stopping herself from crying out.

"Ne… c…ol… … … dy…"

Another stab of pain came, even more extreme than the first, and Jeanne lost consciousness.

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

"Jeanne? Are you okay?"

Jaune groaned and tried to sit up, only to collapse back down.

"Jeanne!" The voice exclaimed again. She heard some footsteps coming towards her quickly, and someone pulled her up. "I'll get you to the-"

"No, it's fine." Jaune replied. "I just had a random wave of dizziness." She felt bad for lying, but that wasn't entirely a lie. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see the ceiling of their dorm staring back at him, with Pyrrha's concerned face hovering over her, looking concerned.

How did she get to their dorm? She had passed out by the Beacon cliffs.

"Jeanne, are you sure you don't need medical treatment?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." She confirmed. She checked her scroll, and found it was nearly eight, and looking around the room, no one had unpacked.

"Where are Nora and Ren?" She asked. As if on cue, the pair walked back in, dressed in their uniforms. Speaking of which, Jaune noticed she was wearing her own. It was surprisingly comfortable, although wearing a dress felt weird.

"Never mind. Now, you three should get unpacked, we need to go to class soon, we don't want to be late on our first day."

"Yes, we know. You already told us silly!" Nora replied. The three began working, and Jaune noticed she didn't have enough stuff to bother unpacking it. She merely nudged his suitcase under the bed, and she was set for the day, so she waited patiently for the others to finish.

It didn't take long, and soon the room was neat and tidy. Apparently, even Nora valued cleanliness. That, or Ren had constantly told her off when she put things in the wrong place. Jaune checked the time, and found it was eight thirty. "Well, would you all like to head to class early?"

"Sure."

"Yes."

"Mphmmh." Came the three simultaneous responses.

"Alright! Let's go!" She said, stepping out into the hall. She knocked on team RWBY's dorm, which was opposite theirs.

"WHAT IS IT?" A voice demanded loudly.

"You guys have class in half an hour. Grimm studies with Professor Port." She heard a sharp intake of breath in response and smirked. "I knew you had forgotten."

"W-we didn't forget!" A second voice replied.

"Suuuuure." Jaune chuckled. "See you in class." She finished, walking off with her team in tow.

"How did you know we had class anyway? You haven't checked your timetable." Pyrrha asked.

"I memorised it." Jaune responded. That was true, her timetable hadn't changed once in two years. Professor Ozpin seemed very content with things how they were, so had left it like that. Besides, only third years and above got elective classes, and the war had stopped Jaune from ever reaching that stage.

JNPR walked down the hallways, Jaune in front, and everyone else quickly becoming lost. The layout was fairly simple, and maps had been provided, so it had only taken even someone as incompetent as her a week to memorise it the first time.

They walked into the classroom, most of the class already sitting in their seats, with only eight vacancies. She left the front row for RWBY, and the team sat in a line at the side of the classroom. Jaune once again checked her scroll. Eight fifty-five. She chuckled, RWBY had probably forgotten again, which wouldn't surprise her. They had a tendency to get caught up in their own business, becoming oblivious to everything around them.

She turned to the door, just in time to see the team barrel through, before realising they weren't late, and awkwardly trying to regain dignity as they headed for their seats.

Jaune looked up at the Professor's signature weapon, the blunderbuss axe. The weapon had, at first, seemed incredibly impractical and hard to use… until Jaune had seen it in the hands of its creator, when she had decided no other weapon could possibly match the Professor better.

Said Professor entered the room, standing in front of some of the many blackboards, each detailing some species of common Grimm.

"Monsters! _Deeemons!_ Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as **prey**! HA-HA!" He declared, only to seem slightly embarrassed as no one found the joke funny. "Uhhhh… And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is simply _teeming_ with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces!

And that is where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntressess…" The man said, winkingly slyly at Yang, who groaned uncomfortably. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why the _very world_!"

Jaune and another student stood up, fist-pumping.

"Ayyyy-yep!"

"WHOOO!"

The two declared loudly. Everyone looked at them strangely, and the two sat back down, the other student doing so in embarrassment, Jaune having no such troubles. Port's speech was actually somewhat rousing, so she thought he had deserved the praise. He hadn't gotten any the first time.

"That is what you are training to become," Port continued. "But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man… Me! When I was a boy…"

At this, Jaune could visibly see most of the other students completely tune the man out, but she continued listening. She had learned at a later date that Port's stories were actually genuine, unembellished recounts of his past. However, her eyes widened in confusion at what the man was saying.

"Blah blah blah… Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me, Blah blah blah blah blah.

Blab blah blah blah. Blah blah, but in the end, the Beowolf was no match for my _sheer_ tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

Jaune simply stared, feeling a stab of anger. She had thought the first time that she had just tuned out the man, _but he was actually saying BLAH instead of words!_ In his later years, he had told **STORIES**. Of **VALUE.**

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honourable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the _embodiment_ of these traits?"

"I do, sir!" Weiss yelled angrily, her hand springing up quickly.

"Well, then, let's find out!" He replied, gesturing to a cage in the middle of the classroom. Jaune had to admit, Port must have taken a lot of time to plan the reveal, because no one had noticed it until he pointed it out. "Step forward, and face your opponent!"

Weiss began walking forward, and Jaune turned to study the cage. It was fairly simple in design, but clearly very efficient as it was rattling heavily, without showing signs it could break. When he looked back, Weiss had already changed into her combat uniform, and had Myrtenaster in her hand.

"What the… that was quick. Was she wearing that under her uniform or something?" Jaune asked no one in particular.

"Goooo, Weiss!" Yang yelled.

"Fight well!" Blake continued, waving a small flag that said 'RWBY'. Where the hell she had gotten that from, Jaune would never know.

"Yeah, represent teeeeeeam RWBY!" Ruby added.

Weiss lowered her sword and looked at the girl. "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"

Jaune felt a stab of annoyance. The blatant disrespect and bullying of the leader would need to be addressed, Weiss really was taking her feelings of disappointment too far. And against the wrong person.

"Oh, um… sorry."

"Allllright!" Port declared, standing next to the cage with his weapon in his hand. "Let the match… _begin_!"At this, He brought it down and shattered the lock on the cage, and a Boarbatusk sprung out, charging at Weiss.

Weiss rolled out of the way and hacked at it, and Jaune closed her eyes. She knew how this fight went, and it really wasn't a very interesting fight. Weiss let her misplaced annoyance at Ruby hinder her fighting ability, and performed very poorly indeed, so she instead tuned the fight out.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are _indeed_ in the presence of a true Huntress in training!" Port declared loudly, interrupting Jaune's thoughts, and Jaune snorted. Boarbatusks weren't that difficult, and Weiss was heavily panting, indicating she had nearly been exhausted from the short skirmish.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and… stay _vigilant_! Class dismissed!"

Wait… assigned readings? HE HADN'T ASSIGNED ANY READINGS! Jaune mentally yelled. This man was INSANE. She watched Weiss glare at Ruby as she left and frowned.

"What's with her?" She asked, twitching in annoyance. "How did she get this far if she is that immature?"

None of Weiss' teammates responded.

Jaune forced herself to calm down, remembering Weiss had quickly matured. Maybe she would be able to again? Even as she thought that, Jaune knew she was tempting fate.


	5. Ignite Change

**Okay, as a heads up, I do not hate either Weiss or Cardin. In fact, I like the characters. I felt it necessary to state this, so people do not get the wrong idea from this chapter, as this is the first chapter where events start to change heavily. The smallest of things can make a huge difference.**

* * *

Jaune would like to say that she was able to pay more attention during classes, and maybe improve her grades. That, of course, would be a lie. Not only were the classes mind-numbingly boring, she already knew all of what they were teaching, so the days started to blur together. The one exception to this was the class with Ms. Goodwitch, which was sparring practice.

It was always interesting to watch people fight, which helped you learn more about them. Besides, every fight was different, and often you didn't know the outcome beforehand. Unfortunately, however, Jaune herself hadn't been called on to spar, and only two or three rounds happened per day. Outside of the class, there was little to do but talk to her friends and ignore the teachers.

Jaune was simply blown away by how… _boring_… this was. The first time she had been too busy to be bored, but now she knew everything that was going to happen. Maybe she should try changing things up? But she wasn't very sure where to start, considering a grand total of nothing was happening.

Someone shaking her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. Jaune looked over, and found it was Pyrrha. "You're up Jeanne! Good luck!" She whispered supportively.

Jaune looked down, and to her surprise, Ruby was walking to one of the changing rooms. _Last time I hadn't fought Ruby_, she thought with a frown. Jaune began walking after her. Last time, Cardin had selected Jaune as his opponent, because he had thought Jaune was weak. Why did Ruby choose Jaune as her partner? The last time she had chosen to fight Yang, as the two had sparred together for years.

Jaune quickly strapped on her armour, and strapped her sword to her back, placing her helmet on her head and walking out. She was amazed at how light the armour was. It was like a second skin, despite being enormously bulky. Her helmet didn't impair her vision in the slightest, and she could move freely.

One thing that confused her, however, was the fact that her upper left arm and left thigh were partially exposed, and the entire left half of her armour was clearly far weaker. Instead of a gauntlet, she wore a leather glove that went up to her elbow. The gap showing her thigh made no sense at all, and the armour on her leg was more like a strong fabric than actual armour.

She was snapped from her thoughts when she came face to face… or rather, face to helmet, with Ruby

"Let the match… begin!" Glynda announced. Ruby unsheathed Crescent Rose and planted it in the ground. In theory, that was a bad idea, as it would limit the speed with which you could block. In practice, Jaune knew Ruby had no trouble with speed.

Jaune left her weapon sheathed over her shoulder, instead just standing there, arms behind her back and waiting. As expected, Ruby's patience ran out and the girl dashed at her, swinging Crescent Rose in an arc at her head. Jaune ducked under the blow, kicking up at Ruby, who sidestepped it and used her momentum to spin, swinging again.

This time, Jaune had to jump over the blow, as it was sent at her legs. Before she could land, Ruby was already striking a third time, forcing Jaune to perform a very… acrobatic manoeuvre, doing a flip mid air. Once again, she was amazed at herself. Jaune would never have been able to do that, even with years of training, in her past.

Ruby looked just as surprised as Jaune was, but despite that, was already striking again, an overhead blow. There was a loud bang as Ruby fired a shot to accelerate it. Jaune landed just in time, raising her right forearm and catching the powerful blow on it. She didn't even feel it, she noticed happily, and was able to keep her ground.

Now _that_ was quality armour, Jaune thought happily. She had made sure of it when she had forged it. Wait, she made her own armour?

Jaune's thought process was stopped when she was sent flying by Ruby, and she growled. Now wasn't the time to be spacing out, she needed to focus on the fight at hand. She took a boxer's stance, and waited for Ruby to make her move.

Ruby did, dashing forward with her Semblance. Unfortunately for the girl, Jaune had fully expected that, as Ruby did it all the time, and met Ruby head on with a kick that knocked up Crescent Rose, followed by a quick punch to the girl's gut. Ruby went flying backwards, and Jaune followed, channelling her aura to her legs and kicking off after her, knocking her to the ground mid flight.

Jaune planted her foot on Ruby's neck.

"And that's the match!" Glynda declared. "As you can see, Miss Rose's aura has now reached the red zone. In a tournament style duel, this would mark the end of the match. Well fought, both of you."

Jaune removed her helmet and foot, smiling down at the girl, and offered her a hand up. "You fought well."

Ruby didn't reply, although she did take the hand. Jaune frowned. Ruby was never this withdrawn unless something was bothering her, and she had never been bothered by a defeat in a sparring match before.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." The girl replied, quickly going back to her beaming, bubbly self.

"We have time for one more match," Glynda said. Jaune checked the clock, and was amazed to see the fight against Ruby had lasted under a minute. It had felt like longer.

"Mister Winchester, would you care to pick an opponent?"

"Thank you, professor. I'd like to fight him." Cardin said, pointing to some random student. Ruby and Jeanne both walked off to get changed. Jaune noticed Ruby doing so very quickly, as she probably wanted to watch the fight. Ruby loved seeing knew weapons, after all.

To her surprise, Ruby's haste seemed to have left her as soon as her locker was open, and the girl was moving slowly. Clearly, her mind was on something else. She didn't look upset though, rather, she looked thoughtful, as if there was a puzzle she just couldn't wait to figure out. In other words, she was acting as the polar opposite of Ruby.

Jaune walked up to the girl and placed her hand on her shoulder. "What is the matter?"

Ruby looked up in surprise, snapped from her thoughts. Jaune could relate to that lately. "Oh… just Weiss has been giving me some trouble. She'll probably be mad I lost."

Jaune frowned. Ruby was lying, or at least, not telling the truth. It was very plausible Weiss was giving Ruby trouble, but she could tell that wasn't the cause of the problem. "Well, if you ever need any help, you can talk to me."

At this, Ruby frowned slightly and went back to quietly packing up her gear. Jaune did the same, very confused. Why was Ruby acting so… not Ruby? It wasn't like the girl to be so glum.

The bell went, signifying the end of class, and Jaune waited for Ruby to finish packing away.

"You go on ahead, I'll see you in the cafeteria," Ruby said firmly. Jaune mentally shrugged and walked off. Clearly the girl wanted to be left alone.

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

Jaune sat down at the cafeteria table, her team and three members of team RWBY with her. Ruby still wasn't here, despite how slowly Jaune had walked.

"That was a great fight!" Pyrrha declared, patting her on the shoulder supportively.

"Yeah, Ruby was a very good opponent."

"Speaking of Ruby, where is she?" Yang asked.

Jaune shrugged. "She seemed to have something she wanted to do."

Weiss scoffed. "Just like her to abandon her team like that."

"What is your problem with my sister?!" Yang demanded, eyes beginning to turn red.

"She's childish, immature and impulsive," Weiss said angrily. "She doesn't deserve to be leader!"

"And I suppose you think you do?" Yang yelled. "You're a stuck up-"

"YANG!" Jaune cut her off. "Walk it off. No need to make a scene in public, you guys should resolve this somewhere else."

Yang glanced at her angrily, then glared at Weiss, before storming off. Her food lay untouched.

"What is that mindless brute's problem?" Weiss demanded. "I was just stating fact. Ruby's a terrible leader. Yang just can't see it because she's her sister."

"I think she's a great leader." Blake interjected.

Their conversation was cut off by a shout of pain from across the cafeteria. They looked over to see Cardin and his team tormenting Velvet. Jaune growled angrily.

"Despicable." Pyrrha said angrily. "I can't stand people like him."

"Who cares? They're just a bunch of Faunus riffraff." Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"AND YOU'RE JUST AN IGNORANT LITTLE BRAT!" Blake yelled, storming off.

Weiss looked shocked. "What is her problem? That was completely uncalled for."

Pyrrha glared at Weiss, and Jeanne stood up, picking up her apple.

"Jeanne, where are you going?" Pyrrha asked. In response, Jeanne took aim and threw the apple at Cardin's head. It connected, causing him to flinch and release Velvet instinctively. The girl scurried off.

"WHO THREW THAT?" Cardin bellowed angrily.

In response, Jeanne stalked up to the boy. His eyes focused on her angrily. "What the hell is your problem, you-" Jeanne cut him off with a punch to his gut, kicking him in the face as he winced. She grabbed him by his ears and tugged, and he winced in pain.

"Not as fun when it is your ears, is it? She is just as much of a person as you are." Jeanne said quietly. Before he could recover or his teammates could react, Jeanne let him go and stalked after Velvet, following the path she had noticed the girl take.

"I'll get you for this," She heard Cardin growl. She ignored him. Finding the girl was more important. Finding… wait… what girl was she looking for again? Jeanne stepped out of the cafeteria, and looked around, somewhat confused. She had just hurt Cardin Winchester because… something. It was unlike her to lose her composure like that, so it must have been important.

She vaguely remembered where she was supposed to be going, and kept walking that way, but stopped. Ahead of her, just around the corner, she heard someone crying, and someone else consoling her. It was probably for the best if she let them be, and somehow she knew that the person around the corner was the one she had been looking for.

She turned around, walking quietly in a different direction, before realising she had absolutely no idea where she was. She was at Beacon, that much she could tell, but she didn't know where she was. Come to think of it, how had she gotten to the Cafeteria? The last thing she remembered was this weird voice in her head, and then… it was a blank.

The… the voice in her head… Jeanne felt a stab of white-hot pain. She growled in annoyance. What was happening to her? Why did she keep having-

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

Jaune groaned in pain, picking herself up off the floor. Why she had been down there, she would likely not know. She stood back up, swaying slightly due to being unbalanced, and tried to remember what had happened. Cardin had been… well, being Cardin, and everything had just… gone blank. She looked around, and was surprised to find she was lost.

She had thought she'd memorized Beacon's layout, but she didn't recognize this hallway, nor did she recognize the flight of stairs heading downwards. She turned around, and was met with a blank wall. No door, no way to turn. The only way she could move was down the stairs. She tentatively made her way over, and walked down them. At the base was another corridor, although this time-

"_Jeanne_," A voice called out. Jaune turned and looked around frantically, trying desperately to see where it had come from. Nothing. No indication whatsoever. She turned back to the corrid-

"Jeanne!" The voice called out, this time much louder. Jaune felt her body beginning to shake from side to side. "JEANNE!"

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

Jaune snapped awake, sitting up quickly and almost ramming into Pyrrha, who was standing over her. She was looking concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Umm… I think so. I just passed out," Jaune replied honestly. She was slightly dizzy, but that was likely because she had sat up so quickly. She held her head. "Sorry about that. Thank you for waking me."

"Hey, what was that back in the cafeteria? I get you were angry, but it isn't like you to attack people like that."

"Yeah… it isn't like me. I'm not sure why, but I just felt… like I _needed_ to attack him… that was wrong of me. Do you know where he is? I would like to apologize."

"You might want to talk to him alone, after class," Pyrrha said. "But I'm glad you realize that what you did was wrong. No matter the circumstances, it isn't right to attack your comrades like that, especially for different beliefs."

"Are you saying his views on the Faunus are right?"

"No! No," Pyrrha protested. "But it is precisely because of that we can't intervene. He needs to get over that on his own. In history, dozens of wars have started because of differences in beliefs. Religion, Race, Sexuality… people who were strongly against that started murdering others, which makes them the villain. As much as I hate to say this… you were the bad guy there Jeanne."

"Thanks, Pyrrha," Jaune replied, standing up unsteadily. "Want to head back to the cafeteria?"

Pyrrha blushed slightly. "Actually, class started half an hour ago."

"WHAT?"

"You missed two other classes as well. When you didn't show up for this one, I asked if I could go look for you. Luckily, Doctor Oobleck was fine with it."

"You're a great teammate, Pyrrha."

"Yeah, well… let's just head back." They started walking down the halls, and as they arrived, the bell went. "Oh… okay, I guess back to the dorms then."

"You go on ahead… there's something I need to do," Jeanne said, quickly ducking behind the doors as students began to pile it. Oobleck would likely have held Cardin back, they boy tended to be even more disrespectful when angry.

"Don't be long, Jeanne," Pyrrha replied, walking off to join the gaggle of students. As Jaune had expected, Cardin wasn't amongst them. But to her surprise, Ruby wasn't either, and Weiss looked furious about it. That probably wasn't good, if their was still tension between the pair.

The students began to clear away, and Doctor Oobleck dashed after them, completely missing Jaune. Cardin slowly trudged out after… he had a black eye and visible bruising. Jaune walked quietly behind him, and lay her hand on his shoulder.

He flinched and spun around, scowling. "Whadda you want?" He demanded angrily.

Jaune looked at the floor. "I would like to apologise… I am sorry."

"Yeah, whatever," Cardin replied, walking off.


	6. The Mind does Scatter

**Right… First things first, I am really sorry for the RIDICULOUS delay between chapters. When Monty died I kinda lost my work ethic, which is best shown by the fact that this chapter just needed a bit of an edit before uploading… and it took me six weeks to do that. But in good news, my work ethic is beginning to return.**

**Also, in regards to the last part of the last chapter, it was meant to be confusing. Jaune isn't really sure what is going on either… I will elaborate on that in a while. But no spoilers here.**

**Also, this chapter is gonna be kinda… weird, and I would be surprised if people understand everything that is going on. I mention this, because even if you don't, you don't really need to yet. It will make sense eventually.**

**Parts that are confusing are (usually) representing Jaune's confusion, because if a character is supposed to be confused yet the reader understands everything perfectly... it really isn't the full experience.**

**Now, enough dramatic foreboding!**

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

Jaune groaned and sat up, once again noticing that it was dawn. That really was a bad habit of hers, although she wasn't really sure what was causing it. She stood up, looking over at her slumbering teammates, and decided to let them continue sleeping. The first few weeks had crawled by, and assignments had been streaming in for the last while, so they were all overtired.

Or, at least, all but Nora. She seemingly never ran out of energy. Jaune grabbed a change of clothes, and began the long, arduous walk to the showers. Unsurprisingly, the halls were completely deserted. However, something caught her eye in the background. She looked out one of the windows, and… it was snowing. In the middle of Summer.

The courtyards were covered in a thin layer of white powder, and small white flakes drifted slowly down. Jaune started in awe, the sight simply breathtaking, even if it made no sense. The bright sun hung very visibly, even on such a cloudy day, and the snow was steaming lightly, several flakes melting entirely before they even hit the ground. Jaune frowned slightly, looking for a door. She found one a small ways down, and stepped out into the courtyard.

It was actually fairly warm, but the snow continued to fall. She looked up, and saw that there were no clouds above the area. Was this someone's Semblance gone wrong? She didn't really see any other possibility. But… it was still kind of… beautiful. Jaune shook her head from side to side, making her way back inside. Her gut instinct told her that outside was dangerous, even if she wasn't sure how.

She tried to dispel the thoughts from her head, but was seemingly unable to focus on anything else. She continued down the hall, and as soon as she stepped past the threshold to the next one, her mind immediately went blank, and she was hit by a wave of nausea and exhaustion. She fell down to one knee, sighing in exhaustion and feeling her eyes close.

She felt a stab of ice in her stomach, and gasped in pain, falling down, and barely managing to catch herself on one arm. She heard a loud screeching sound, and grasped her ears, trying to stop the agonising pain, and she felt something hit her in the back of the head. She felt herself go flying into a wall, hitting it painfully and feeling darkness encroach her.

The screeching stopped, and Jaune lifted her hands off her head, opening her eyes hesitantly, and looked around. She was lying against a wall, and the hallway was completely empty. She looked out a nearby window, and all the snow in the courtyard had vanished, but the sun hadn't budged, so not much time couldn't passed.

She stood up shakily, her legs and arms shivering slightly, and her head was aching.

_What the HELL was THAT?_ Jaune mentally demanded, leaning against the wall as she felt herself lose balance, and she gradually made her way forward. As she continued walking, her vision began blurring, and the hallway seemed to split in two, one leading right and one leading left.

She rubbed her eyes and the halls sprang back into a linear path, but a wave of dizziness brought her to her knees again. She felt a tingle in her spine, and spun around, having felt something behind her. The hall behind her had a thin layer of snow coating the walls, and Jaune began to feel her centre of balance change, and she fell against a fall, collapsing further to the ground.

Her vision flickered, and the snow began floating upwards, as if falling in reverse. Flakes peeled themselves of the ground and flew up to the ceiling, almost in the shape of petals. As soon as they got within a foot of the ceiling, they vanished, and as each petal rose, Jaune began to feel less and less dizzy, feeling her strength quickly returning to her.

The remaining few stopped halfway and begun forming words.

"**DO NOT FORGET. OUT OF MIND, OU-**"

"Jeanne?" A voice called out.

Jaune spun around, and found the hallway completely empty, although pitch black, with the ceiling lights completely extinguished. The brightness began flickering, and everything began sharper, clearer, and a lot brighter. The lights on the ceiling flicked back on, illuminating the now normal hallway.

When she turned back, the words were gone, as was all of the snow. She felt a sharp jolt of pain in the back of her head, and shut her eyes as she fell to the ground. To her surprise, the pain of landing never came. She hesitantly opened her eyes, and found herself in one of the Beacon showers, still fully clothed. Much to her relief, she saw a change of clothes and her towel outside waiting for her.

But… what was all of that stuff in the… Jaune's mind went blank, and she found herself standing outside of the shower, fully dried and dressed, carrying a bundle of her dirty clothes and a towel. She shook her head, and checked the time on her scroll. According to her clock, she had left her dorm under a minute ago… but that couldn't be right. It would take several minutes to get from her dorm to the showers, even at a sprint.

Jaune felt a shiver down her spine, and shivered slightly. She saw someone else step into the girl's shower room, only to stop mid step as Jaune's vision flickered again. The girl was gone. Feeling unsettled, Jaune stepped out of the showers, and began walking back to her room. At the start of the hall, she encountered the girl who she had seen, and she stepped into the showers, giving Jaune a vague wave.

Jaune felt a stab of pain in her head, and covered her eyes with her hands as everything began to flicker, parts of the floor moving seemingly randomly, and all in different directions. One had even floated upwards.

Jaune let out a small sob, and felt a hand on her shoulder. She jerked, and gazed up at the perpetrator. It was Pyrrha. And Jaune was back in her dorm room.

"Are you okay, Jean-" Pyrrha began worriedly, only for her eyes to go blank and for her to step backwards, moving back and rubbing her eyes, before lying down on her bed.

"-Kay Jeanne?" Pyrrha said, appearing back in front of he, her hand once again on her shoulders.

"I-I…." Jaune began, before letting out a sob of confusion as Pyrrha moved backwards with inhuman speed, lying down on her bed.

Jaune sob lightly, placing her hands back on her face, hoping that all these strange things would just… go away!

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Pyrrha standing there once again, looking concerned.

"Are you okay, Jeanne?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes filled with worry.

Jaune got to her feet unsteadily nodding, turning away and waving dismissively at the girl.

"I-I just need some time." Jaune said unsteadily, walking over to her bed and collapsing face first, crying silently. She felt herself begin to quickly lose consciousness, everything fading into black amongst her tears.

She woke up, opening her eyes, and sat up quietly. She looked to her sides, and her teammates were still soundly asleep, even Pyrrha. Jaune picked up her scroll and checked the time… It was exactly the time she had left for the showers, down to the second.

Jaune lay back down, and felt tears once again begin to well in her eyes, but repressed them. She checked her suitcase, and found the set of clothing she had changed into missing, indicating she had already showered. Jaune sniffed her hand, which smelt faintly of perfume and sanitiser. The time of sanitiser she used in the shower.

Jaune let out a groan of frustration, steeling herself. She had faced much worse than whatever this was, and she forced herself upwards, striding down the same path she remembered having taken before.

She glanced out one of the windows, and the ground was coated lightly in snow, with flakes falling lightly. She felt a stab of panic, and backtracked quickly, heading back to her dorm room in a slight daze, feeling a chill begin to creep into her mind, which began grow slowly as she neared her room.

As she stepped through the threshold, her entire body went numb, and she stumbled, falling onto her knees, only for feeling to return to her completely when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay, Jeanne?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes filled with worry.

Jaune wanted to curl up into a ball and sob, but her body seemingly went on autopilot, and she found herself facedown on her bed, sobbing silently.

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

Jeanne woke up to a faint, faint footstep on the wooden floor. She leapt up from her bed, spinning mid-air and coming down facing her opponent, who stepped back in surprise, bringing their right arm down towards her. There was a faint gleam of metal.

Jeanne grabbed their wrist, stopping the knife by throwing it to one side, and spun, dragging her opponent closer while kicking them in the side of the head. The intrude was dazed, and briefly off balance, so she used that advantage to pry the knife from their hands, spinning behind them and holding it to their neck, cutting a ragged gash across their throat.

The lights flicked on as the simulation ended, the newly decapitated head of a robot falling to the ground, its body sparking at the neck and jerking wildly, before falling over with a loud thud. Jeanne spun the knife in her hand, before throwing it lightly, embedding it in the floor between the robot's head and neck.

A man walked in from one of the doors, applauding. She knew who this man was…

"Well done, very well done. ********, Did I not tell you she had good reflexes?"

Another voice, also male, came in over the speakers. "Indeed. If her vitals were not in front of me, I would've had trouble believing she had been asleep. Excellent find, **** ********."

Where Jeanne assumed the men's names were supposed to go, instead her ears were filled with some strange static.

"She has been serving in the military for a few months now, and already she has completed all of the training: be it mandatory or otherwise. For all occupations. And not only that, she does them all to perfection, not some half-bakes mediocre effort. It is simply remarkable." One of them said, although she could no longer tell which was which, as her vision was blurring and fading.

"Very well then. Per-"

JEANNE

"-haps it is time fo-"

JEANNE

"-r her to be mo-"

Jeanne, wake up!

* * *

|(/\\)|

* * *

Jaune sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and looking around in confusion, until she realised Pyrrha was perched directly above her.

"What's the matter?" Pyrrha asked, concerned.

Jaune looked up at her, confused.

"You were whimpering," Pyrrha said, blushing slightly. "I thought you were having a nightmare."

Jaune thought back to her dream… she felt it was really important, maybe even vital. But even as she was there, the details began slipping. Today sure was going to be a weird day.

"I… I'm not sure, but I should've been up soon anyway, so thank you," Jaune said quietly.

"So, what are your plans for today?" Pyrrha asked, and Jaune just looked confused. "It is the weekend."

"Oh, right, I'd totally forgotten!" Jaune replied, gasping slightly as she felt a stab of pain in her chest.

"Jeanne!" Pyrrha called out in concern.

"I am fine." Jaune replied. She had forgotten how painful admitting fault was for her now. It was certainly strange that it felt like… well, physical pain.

"Are you sure? You seemed a bit of this morning. If there's anything wrong, you can tell us, we're your teammates."

"I know, and I will if something serious comes up," Jaune replied. "Welp, anyway, I'm going to go for a jog to clear my head."

It was the truth, but Pyrrha didn't need to know why she had to clear her head. As confusing as that morning had been, she remembered one thing. One very, very important thing. The snow. Jaune wasn't sure why it was important, but she couldn't stop thinking about it, and it was driving her crazy.

Almost as much as the fact that when she walked through her dorm door, on her way to the nearby, albeit Grimm infested, forest, the area outside was coated in a fine layer of snow.

As she walked down the corridors, every few steps the snow would either vanish or thicken, and as she turned a corner, she could swear he had caught a glimpse of a cloak… a very fashionable white cloak. The figure wearing it flickered, and the cloak vanished, being replaced by Weiss, who spared no second glance to Jaune, and kept walking down the halls.

Jaune shook her head frantically. This was exactly what she meant, she couldn't stop obsessing over what she had seen. She knew if she continued this way, it would negatively effect her team. So as much as it bothered her, she was going to have to ignore it for now. Besides, she had more important things to worry about.

* * *

**So, yeah, a metaphorical cookie to anyone who understood all of that. Sorry about this chapter being confusing, it kinda had to be done.**

**Also, quick note, if you find any typo's or errors in any chapters, please drop a review letting me know. I often overlook things, and even just fixing a type error can make a story far more enjoyable.**

**Till next time!**


	7. Natural Path

**Hey! Next chapter here, as you can probably see. It was a splash late, so sorry about that.**

**Once again, please feel free to point out any typo's and give constructive criticism. I can't improve unless people tell me what I'm doing wrong.**

* * *

Jaune wanted nothing more than to slam her head on the table. And to keep doing it until the table gave way. But she restrained herself, instead trying to ignore what was going on around. Although she wasn't really sure that was the right phrasing. It was more what wasn't going on.

Jaune glanced up, and noticed that it was still going on, and once again had to resist the urge to acquaint her face with the table. She sighed audibly.

"Ruby…" Jaune said after a short pause. "Stay here. Or go and run around outside. Basically anything that will place you somewhere that isn't nearby me. Weiss, you're coming with me. We need to have a… talk."

Weiss opened her mouth to protest, but Jaune reached out and clamped a hand over the Heiress's mouth, picking her up with the other hand. Weiss immediately started struggling and yelling into her hand, and Jaune assumed she was demanding to be released. But for all Jaune could care, Weiss could be saying how adorable a puppy was, and even when Weiss's blows actually started to hurt, Jaune ignored them.

Jaune walked down a few hallways, ignoring the looks she got from passing students, and immediately being grateful that the cafeteria had been empty apart from her, Ruby and Weiss. To be fair, though, it was five A.M, and they only passed two students in the hallways. Even so, that was far more than Jaune had expected.

Jaune continued her way outside, the struggling Heiress slung across her shoulder, still kicking and screaming and punching, continuing up to the Beacon Cliffs, where the first years had undergone initiation. This way, she was sure that no one would be around to overhear what was going to be said, even if they were to yell.

Jaune looked down at Weiss. "Keep still, and I'll release you." Reluctantly, the girl stopped struggling, and Jaune released her hold, Weiss landing on her feet and staring at Jaune with a mixture of rage and indignance.

Weiss opened her mouth to say something, but Jaune cut her off. "Shut up," She said firmly and loudly. The Heiress thankfully stopped talking. "Right," Jaune continued. "Sit down."

When the Heiress made no move to do so, Jaune kicked her feet from under her, aiming just high enough that when Weiss instinctively went to jump the blow would connect anyway. Weiss well onto the ground, and quickly began to rise, only for Jaune to stop her by resting a hand on her shoulder, and forcefully keeping it from moving.

"I'll…" Weiss began.

"Nope. Shut up," Jaune replied. Weiss tried to continue speaking, and Jaune clamped her free hand over the girl's mouth again, effectively muffling her. Weiss continued to struggle and glare angrily, but quickly realised how futile her struggles were when Jaune didn't budge in the slightest. Luckily, Weiss wasn't very strong.

"Now. We are going to have a little chat about your recent behaviour," Jaune said, uncovering the girl's mouth and letting go of her. Weiss immediately pulled out Myrtenaster from her side, but Jaune swatted it out of her hands.

"You won't be leaving here until we've had it, even if it means I have to literally chain you to the ground, so I wouldn't advise trying to run. Got it?" Jaune asked impatiently. Weiss shrugged and turned away, facing one side. Thankfully, she seemed to realise Jaune's semblance would let her catch up to pretty much anyone in any circumstance.

"Right. Now. Ever since the term began, you've been treating Ruby very poorly, effectively bullying her."

Weiss opened her mouth, turning to Jaune and starting to say something that was probably protesting the point, only for Jaune to knee her in the stomach, cutting the words off with a surprised gasp.

"Yes, you have been. Now shut up and listen. The faster I finish saying this, the faster I'll let you go."

Weiss sat up from the ground and glared at Jaune, gasping to regain her breath, and Jaune stepped forward, picking her up off the ground with one hand.

"All term, you have been spouting the same nonsense over and over again. Ruby, in your eyes, is unfit to lead the team, and you believe you deserve better. Despite a Professor actively disagreeing with you, your opinion is so stubbornly set that you didn't budge."

Weiss looked away, slightly ashamed.

"And I'm fine with that," Jaune said, causing Weiss's gaze to snap up in surprise. "You are completely entitled to your own opinion. Who knows, maybe your opinion is even right. That doesn't matter. Ever since you decided on that opinion, you have done nothing but try to tear Ruby down, acting all the child you claim her to be, and you wonder why you weren't put in charge.

"A good leader is not always the person who is best at leading. The most important trait for a leader, above all others, is selflessness and empathy. If you cannot be a part of the team you are trying to lead, then all you will do is cause the team to fall apart. Since the beginning of term, you have refused to allow your team to properly bond, all because you have refused to let go of a grudge.

"You've let all your anger and hatred out on Ruby, feeling justified in doing so, and even while you do so have been oblivious to her attempts to rectify that even still. You snapped at her for her work ethic, she began working tirelessly, and I would argue she is one of the best scholars in class. You were infuriated by her reckless, head on assault in battle placing your team at risk of friendly fire, and so she developed and shared strategies to incorporate it.

"But still, all you feel is entitlement. You believe you should have been leader, because how could a child be put in charge of a team? So I'll give you a bit of a hint behind the thought process of those who assign that kind of thing. Imagine, for a moment, that you were team leader. How would you act if one of your teammates fighting style clashed with your own? Why, you would tell them to change theirs.

"Now think of what would happen if they actually did that. With their new style they would be a mediocre fighter at best, and your team would become a team of three. There would be weaknesses in their new fighting style they didn't expect, or they would make a slight slip up, and they get killed by a Grimm. The reason we can beat them is we have practiced the same moves enough times for them to be ingrained.

"Ruby, on the other hand, knows that change is hard when people have focused intently on something for a long time, and instead thinks of ways to fight that let both of you give it your all without being in the way. She encourages her teammates to improve, praising them when they do, whilst you expect them to already have improved, and when they do let them know they should've improved _more_.

"Want to know why the difference is so distinct? Ruby encourages people to improve, and you make them feel like they will never be good enough, making improvement seem futile. A team lead by you would improve quickly for a short time, before collapsing into a depression. More specifically, any team lead by you that has Ruby in it.

"Weiss… you could be a good leader. A great leader. I have no doubt that you can lead a team, and do very well. But before you can even think of doing that, you need to grow up and stop being petty. If you don't think Ruby can lead, don't take it out on her, go to someone who put her in charge and discuss it with them, get their reasoning. More often than not, you'll agree with it."

Jaune dropped Weiss to the ground, and she landed on her feet, still refusing to make eye contact.

"Now I don't care _how_ you start accepting Ruby, but as long as you do, we're cool. Got that?"

With that, Jaune walked off, leaving the girl to stew in her thoughts, and more importantly, shower and prepare for the day. She was still in her pyjamas when Ruby had woken her, albeit unintentionally, by walking past. When Weiss had followed, Jaune had gotten up to see what was happening.

To think they would have such a silly argument was disheartening, but Jaune was just glad she had been there, the argument had ended very badly. When she'd walked in, both looked ready to draw their weapons and charge the other, and both of them were carrying them, so it might have actually happened.

Then again, Jaune knew that it hadn't really been the cause of the argument, it had just been building for a long time, but for all the things to trigger it… Ruby had a nightmare, and snuck out to get a glass of milk and a cookie from the cafeteria. Who knows how that set Weiss off, but apparently it had because she had been pretty furious and harsh to the younger girl.

* * *

Weiss was unusually quiet and withdrawn for the rest of the day, for which Jaune was grateful. For two reasons. One, it meant she had gotten her message across.

Two, and far more importantly, she was _tired_. Jaune wasn't sure what had caused it, but she'd never felt so tired in her life, and even as she sat through her classes, she felt herself drift of multiple times, each time thankfully snapping awake as her head fell.

In front of her, Ms Goodwitch was addressing the class, teaching them about some of the more finicky rules in tournaments, all the students already having learned most of the basics. What she was saying was interesting, but Jaune could already feel herself start drifting off, and shook her head to try and clear it.

She had no idea what was causing it; she usually woke up around the same time she had, it just didn't make any sense.

"Alright students," Came the voice of Ms Goodwitch, snapping Jaune awake, even if she knew it would only be very briefly. "We will now have our first match of the day. Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, please make your way to the stage."

That garnered a fair bit more attention. Jaune briefly considered it being a coincidence, but realised it was more likely Weiss had requested it beforehand. Good to know that Weiss was giving change her all, Jaune knew from experience how much easier people found it to stay stuck in their own ways, afraid to change.

Weiss had never struck her as the type who would run from this kind of thing, but she often… had trouble being honest with herself, and truly accepting her feelings.

Weiss walked past Jaune silently, already in her combat uniform, and stood opposite Ruby, who was similarly prepared. Jaune immediately noticed something off in Ruby… she seemed kind of… malicious, and it was obvious from her stance that she was planning to make a headlong dash at Weiss as soon as the match started.

Weiss seemed to recognise this, but was completely unfazed, and stood in her usual offensive stance.

"Let the match – Begin!" Glynda said calmly, stepping back out of the way of the two contestants.

Immediately, There was a loud clang and a gunshot, Ruby covering the distance between the two in the time it would take most to blink. She started swinging a gunshot-propelled swipe at Weiss's head, but Weiss blocked it with a Glyph and lunged at Ruby's chest.

Ruby flipped back, impaling her weapon into the ground and bringing her entire body to balance on her scythe, spinning out off the way of the attack and using her momentum to begin her riposte mid-air. It was an amazing display of speed and mobility, even by Ruby's standards.

Weiss spun, holding her sword parallel to the ground and catching the attack on the blade, knocking it up just enough to slide over her head and miss. A clever strategy, as remarkably few had the strength to stop one of Ruby's blows. Far safer, then, to redirect it.

Ruby planted the Scythe in the ground, remaining in the air and kicking out at Weiss, who tried to lean out of the way but was caught nonetheless and went sliding back. Ruby used the momentum to flip backwards, landing smoothly, while chambering another bullet in her gun.

Weiss spun and planted her sword in the ground, and a bright flash of white erupted, covering the ground in an unnatural ice that would make moving quickly, as Ruby tended to do, quite a lot harder.

A bullet spat out and hit Weiss on the shoulder, dropping her aura by almost an eighth, and Ruby chambered another bullet, dashing forward with her semblance. She appeared in front of Weiss, letting her movement skid her across the ground and swinging diagonally downwards at Weiss, who this time used the tip of her blade to raise the scythe.

Ruby was expecting that, however, using the extra movement to spin and strike twice more in quick succession at Weiss's stomach. Weiss leapt up and over the first attack, but the second caught her foot and caused her to tumble unceremoniously to the ground.

There was a loud scraping as Ruby once again impaled Crescent Rose into the ground, which brought Ruby's skid to a halt almost immediately, and Ruby used her tremendous strength to fling her entire body back at Weiss, who was at that stage behind her. That kind of strength was to be expected, really, of someone who could carry a weapon that heavy.

Bringing her scythe above her, Ruby impaled it into the ground where Weiss had lain, the Heiress having rolled out of the way, before using it to pivot in the direction Weiss had rolled, kicking down at the girl.

Weiss formed a Glyph above her, stabbing at Ruby's stomach, only for the girl to once again fling herself to the side using Crescent Rose. Ruby spun in a full circle, yanking her Scythe out of the ground and slicing across at Weiss, who bent backwards as far as she could, the scythe whistling harmlessly overhead, only to strike again before Weiss could even start to riposte.

Another well timed Glyph stopped Ruby's momentum, only for the girl to spin it back the other way, continuing to lash out from every direction even as Weiss struggled to dodge. One blow connected, causing Weiss to be flung to the ground. A quick flash of a Glyph on the floor beneath her, and Ruby vanished in a flicker of her semblance and six beams of light shot upwards where she had been standing.

A quick glance at the aura displays told Jaune all he needed to know about how this match was going: Ruby's was still mostly full, while Weiss's had been chipped down by just under a quarter. She simply couldn't seem to keep up with Ruby's speed, and her Glyphs were costly, to say nothing of how much a single solid hit from Ruby's colossal scythe could hurt.

Ruby stood on the far side of the stage, waiting patiently for Weiss to make the next move, all the while intently focused. Weiss flipped herself up off the ground, huffing and slightly winded. She'd never had much stamina. Still, she steadily began advancing towards Ruby at a light jog, forming Glyphs around her, before using a Glyph behind her as a springboard to send her flying forward.

Ruby parried the blow with the shaft of her weapon, as Weiss landed on a Glyph behind the girl and used them as springboards to lunge at her partner over and over, two of the lunges glancing Ruby, but the rest once again being knocked aside by the Sniper Rifle part of Ruby's weapon.

Weiss tried another lunge, from the last Glyph, only for Ruby to step forward at the blow unexpectedly, taking the hit and using the Heiress's momentum to hook her scythe against Weiss's neck, before firing a single shot from her rifle.

The recoil sent Weiss onto the floor, the blade of the scythe impaling itself in the ground next to her head. A faint line of blood started to trickle down to the ground from the Heiress, even as Ruby yanked the Scythe out of the ground and raised it overhead, ready to swing down.

Weiss spun to her feet, narrowly dodging Ruby's follow up strike, landing a glancing blow to Ruby's torso before dancing back with the quick use of a Glyph. Ruby vanished in a flash of rose petals, appearing behind the girl, already most of the way through a slice across at Weiss's hip. Weiss managed to slide under it at the last second, using the icy floor to her advantage.

Rolling back to standing with barely time to blink, Weiss began to go on the offensive, slicing and slashing quickly at Ruby, easily half a dozen times in a second. Each of her blows were met with a parry, however, as Ruby spun her scythe in front of her, and even as Weiss tried to switch tactics, Ruby kneed Weiss in the gut and hit her with the blunt end of her weapon, sending her flying.

Weiss regained her footing mid-air, sliding on her feet but still being too preoccupied to block Ruby's dash, which sent her tumbling across the ground. She made no move to begin standing up, but managed to lift herself slightly off the ground.

"And that's the match," Glynda called out.

Ruby stopped her blow, quickly folding away her weapon. She stepped over to Weiss and offered her a hand up, which Weiss reluctantly took. Ruby pulled her partner up to her feet, and let her lean on her for balance.

"As you can see, Miss Schnee's aura has fallen dangerously low."

Sure enough, when Jaune checked, Weiss's aura was almost entirely gone, just a small sliver remaining. She was well past the red zone.

"Once a competitor's aura hits the red zone, the official may then call the match," Glynda continued. Whatever followed that sentence, however, was lost on Jaune as she felt herself once again begin drifting off to sleep. Without the excitement of the match, there wasn't really much reason for her to keep listening. She'd heard this all before, and she was still… so… tired…

She heard the teacher continue to drone on for the remainder of the lesson, and was snapped from her stupor by Pyrrha, who shook her shoulders.

"The lesson is over, Jeanne. Are you sure you're okay? I've never seen you this tired."

Jaune sat up sharply, looking at the girl. "Sorry about that. I'm not entirely sure why, but I keep falling asleep."

"Well, that was our last class for the day; maybe you should have a nap back in our dorm?"

Jaune smiled. "Thanks, Pyrrha. I might just do that."


	8. Celebration (End of Arc 1)

**As a fore note, I apologise if this chapter isn't quite up to par. I've been really busy lately, and haven't edited it nearly as much as I would've liked to. So if you find places where you think I dun goof, please drop a review and let me know (Although please check first to make sure noone else pointed out the grammar/spelling error you did)**

**Oh, also, thank you for a hundred favorites. You guys are awesome. Technically at 95 at time of posting, but I've seen the average of fav's/chapter. So yeah, onwards!**

* * *

Jaune shifted once again, desperately trying to get comfortable. Unfortunately for her, the movement merely caused her to be even _more_ wide awake. At Eleven at night, with seemingly no chance of getting to sleep in the next few hours. Somewhat ironic that she'd been completely exhausted all day, but as soon as she could sleep? Nah, she'd be _WIDE AWAKE _ for _THAT_.

Jaune groaned inwardly, not wanting to disturb her companions, and begrudgingly got to her feet. She sighed and moved quietly to the door, slipping out into the hallway and shutting it behind her. Maybe going for a walk would help. She doubted it, but still, best to be optimistic.

Jaune began walking down the halls slowly, making her way outside. The halls were empty, although that was hardly surprising, and nearly silent. Most might have found the silence eerie and creepy, but after Nora's non-stop snoring, it was a welcome change. Besides, Jaune had always found solace in solitude.

When no one was around, there was no need to act. You didn't need to be strong, caring, or determined. You could just… be yourself. You didn't need to live up to the expectations on others.

Jaune frowned. Once again, that felt right, but she knew that in her past life it hadn't been like that. The more she learned about the person she now was, the more, the more she realised just how sad Jeanne's life would've been.

Jaune absently checked her scroll. It was nearing midnight, even though it had only felt like a few minutes. Just as she was about to flick it closed, something caught her eye. 'You have one new message.' The screen read. Apparently, the message had been sent three days ago, but Jaune hadn't noticed it before.

_'Got it. I understand.'_ ~ Number withheld.

Jaune checked the conversation that message had been a part of, but all of the previous messages, from both Jaune's scroll and whoever this person was, had been deleted. Jaune merely shrugged and put the scroll away. It probably wasn't important.

Finally making it into a courtyard, Jaune broke into a jog, running to a nearby wall and immediately beginning to climb up it. Her body moved as if on autopilot, swinging nimble from ledge to windowsill, reaching the top of the wall in seconds. The wall arched upwards, before connecting to the central tower of Beacon, so Jaune continued her climb.

The tower was a bit easier to climb, as there were decorative ledges and many other things that were perfect handholds. It was almost as if the tower had been made to be climbed. Reaching the top, Jaune sat on the roof, panting slightly, and looked out at the broken moon above her.

Unfortunately, a large cloud moved directly over Beacon, completely obscuring her view. Jaune sighed and began to climb back down, making it nearly half way before nearly falling off as a voice interrupted her, but caught herself on a window ledge.

"I thought I might find you here." It was a mans voice, although she couldn't quite tell who, as it was muffled through the wall.

"P-professor Ozpin!" A female voice stuttered in response. Well, that solved that. Whoever was speaking was near the window she hung from. Jaune glimpsed a figure rise slightly, and ducked further down. She didn't want to intrude.

She faced down and was ready to continue her descent, when Ozpin's voice interrupted her.

"What might be the matter, Miss Schnee?"

Jaune froze. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but was compelled to stay. With all that had happened this morning, Weiss should've gone right to bed in the hopes of leaving the day behind her. The next day, she might have been a tad more tolerant to Ruby, but would still likely be harsh on her. That was what Jaune had expected her to do. She knew Weiss would change, but also knew it would be gradual.

Yet here Weiss was, at midnight, sitting in a hall and apparently gazing out the window. Far away from the warmth of her bed, and the comfort of having teammates nearby.

"Do you… do you think it's unreasonable for me to ask for forgiveness, when I know I don't deserve it?" Weiss stuttered out weakly.

Jaune heard a slight slurp, and a brief pause. Apparently Ozpin drunk coffee even at midnight. That man was crazy.

"Forgiveness… is both harder and easier than you think," Ozpin replied cryptically. Jaune rolled her eyes, but kept listening intently.

"In fact, I do not believe you should ever ask for forgiveness."

There was a brief lull in the conversation, and Jaune could imagine Weiss's eyes snapping up to meet the headmasters.

"If you believe you have wronged, those wrongs should not be forgotten. Instead, balance out wrongs with rights. Many people have claimed to have changed, but actions speak far louder and more clearly than words. If you truly wish to show you are sorry, the best way to do that is through kindness.

"It will not always work. Some people will never forgive certain things. But if it is going to happen, it will happen. Asking for it will not help you obtain it."

Ozpin took another deep draught of his coffee.

Weiss sat in silence for a full minute before replying. "Thank you, Professor. I… I should get to bed. Classes tomorrow."

Jaune could practically hear Ozpin smirk. "I think you'll find that a mysterious fire has erupted tomorrow morning, and classes have unfortunately been cancelled for the day while the teachers investigate its origin. Perhaps you should have a sleep in, lest you be caught unawares by the sudden inferno."

How that man got to be headmaster of a school, Jaune would never know. Jaune heard Weiss thank him again and leave, and mulled over the conversation. Weiss was giving it her all to make things up to Ruby… Jaune hoped. That sounded like the most logical thing for that conversation to be about, but Jaune had heard weirder.

"Now," Ozpin said quietly. "While I cannot be disappointed with your initiative, I do not believe a window ledge is a good place to spend the night. It would be a shame to have to punish a student for breaking curfew, after all. It would certainly be a first."

Jaune froze. She heard another sip of coffee, and the professor begin walking, the footsteps quickly getting quieter. How had he-

"Perhaps we should all have an early night," Ozpin muttered to himself, interrupting Jaune's train of thought. Jaune began to move in a slight daze, quickly making her way back to her dorm.

* * *

"Tag!" Yelled out a voice loudly, causing Jaune to practically spring awake from where she had been sleeping under a tree. Her sword flashed only a moment after, and she spun frantically to find the source of the voice, growling in annoyance. However, Jaune quickly sheathed her sword, looking at the ground and trying to pretend she wasn't embarrassed.

Jaune was desperately regretting her decision to have some 'inter-team bonding' time in their day off, having decided to take them all out on a picnic. Ozpin had apparently gone through with his plan to burn things, and the extent of the fire made Jaune wonder if things got out of hand, or the man was a pyromaniac. Honestly she couldn't tell.

All of her friends were scattered across the field, and all of them had seen her overreaction at the noise. So Jaune pretended to not hear the giggles from her fellow leader, instead laying face down in an attempt to cover her embarrassed blush. Ruby's laughter, however, was strengthened by this, and eventually the laughter illicitly spread throughout all of those present, unbidden to Jaune's ears as she continued to hide her shame.

A hand rested on her shoulder, and a warm voice spoke to her, still chuckling slightly. "Come on, Jeanne. Lighten up. It was your idea that we come here in the first place, everyone is just poking fun."

Jaune brushed Pyrrha's hand off. In reality, the location had been Weiss' suggestion. After all, why would it have occurred to Jaune that the best place to picnic would be a private owned property, which belonged to the Schnee Dust Company? But Weiss had made Jaune swear to not reveal the fact, claiming that it would make them 'even' for the horrible way Jaune had treated Weiss, even if Weiss agreed it had been necessary. Jaune honestly wasn't sure why Weiss had bothered, given that she was currently enthusiastically playing tag with Ruby. Although she was rather thankful that the teams were oblivious sometimes, and no one had noticed Weiss owned the place.

Naturally, she had at first been hesitant to join Ruby's game at first, but Ruby had been absolutely adamant. Apparently, Weiss was enjoying herself though. Jaune and the others had tried joining in from time to time, but as the game progressed the two got more and more competitive, using their Semblances to dash too and from, so everyone had given up. Now it was just the two of them, still moving at ridiculous speeds.

Still, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Unfortunately for Jaune, she woke up at six A.M. and was understandably tired. But still, not wanting to rain on her friend's parade, she would do her best to be accommodating.

Jaune felt Pyrrha tap her on the shoulder again, and curtly replied "Just let me sleep."

She heard Pyrrha sigh happily, sitting down next to her. Jaune groaned loudly and turned the other way, only to glimpse Nora and turn right back. Better to deal with a buzzing fly than a howling turbine.

"I will seriously pay you to let me sleep," Jaune said tiredly, and Pyrrha once again chuckled.

"Ruby and Weiss will run out of energy soon, you can nap when they do. I must say, I'm proud of them for bonding so quickly."

Jaune smiled. "I knew they would, they just needed a bit of a… push. The two balance each other out perfectly, like Ren and Nora. And Blake and Yang. It's almost as if Professor Ozpin rigged our teams so the personalities would be as extreme as possible. I've heard he has a chaotic, prankster streak a mile long."

Pyrrha shrugged. Jaune heard an explosion and reluctantly turned to face it, quickly checking the damage.

"Remind me again why we decided Nora could play Whack-A-Mole with subterranean Grimm?" Pyrrha asked jokingly.

Jaune sighed. "Two reasons, really. One, it takes care of said Grimm, and two, it keeps Nora busy. A win-win, really. You know how excitable she can be. Just a shame she stopped using the tree branch and started using Magnhild."

Glancing over at the game, Nora continued to tear chunks of the ground out via explosion. Ren, who was meant to be controlling her destructive tendencies, and acting as a 'referee' of sorts, was meditating. He'd probably realised his task was futile.

A rock hit Jaune in the back of the head, and she stood up, growling in annoyance. To the right of the tree she was under stood Yang, in a position that very clearly showed just who had thrown said rock, and that they were not attempting to hide it. Behind her sat Blake, reading a book quietly.

Yang grinned triumphantly at Jaune. "Hey, Jeanne, wanna spar?"

Jaune once again groaned. It was really strange, how often people would pretend they were asking questions when they weren't. Yang and Jaune both knew full well what would happen if Jaune refused; Yang would keep throwing more rocks, and Jaune would get a very bruised neck and head.

"And why can't you duel Pyrrha instead?" Jaune demanded angrily.

"Because she's making us lunch!" Yang replied. Jaune couldn't argue that, nor could she deny that Pyrrha was an amazing cook, so Jaune reluctantly got to her feet.

"No weapons!" Yang demanded triumphantly. They both knew that would hardly affect Yang, who fought by punching anyway. Once again, Jaune groaned.

Pyrrha gave her a light push, and chuckled. "Go on, no point dilly-dallying."

As soon as Jaune stood up, a quick flash of aura and Jaune's Semblance accelerated her right at Yang, covering the distance of twenty meters in under a second, causing the girl to blink in surprise even as Jaune bowled her feet from under her. It was amazing how easy it was to flip someone with a shoulder charge, and had proven useful on many occasions.

Jaune staggered slightly, but managed to retain her balance as Yang stood back up, immediately going on the offensive with a barrage of kicks and punches. All of them were fast, accurate and powerful. Unfortunately for Yang, he style was rather basic in comparison to what it would become, and even some of her 'experimental' moves were ones Jaune had helped her perfect.

Ah, the perks of knowing your opponent's fighting style. Jaune caught one of Yang's more complex 'surprise' moves in her left hand, stepping forward and flipping Yang over her shoulder. With a cry of indignation, the blonde went flying into the dirt.

Growling and eyes glowing red, Yang stood back up and unleashed an astoundingly quick punch/charge, which Jaune sidestepped. When Yang's anger clouded her thoughts, her fighting style was even more basic, so Jaune continued to mockingly sidestep. Eventually, Yang gave up with an exhausted puff, sinking to the ground as Jaune grinned triumphantly.

"Lunch!" Pyrrha called out. Within seconds, both teams were fully present and sitting patiently, waiting for Pyrrha's food. Most of the others had stopped what they were doing half way, which was made painfully obvious by the fact that Nora's hammer, while still in her hand, was also inside what used to be the head of a Grimm.

Ren sighed and began cleaning up his best friend's mess, even as the food was being served. Digging in, the students all began to feel a great sense of contentment, with Yang lying back on the ground to stare up at the sky as soon as she had finished.

Within a minute, all of the food Pyrrha had made was gone, and all of them were sighing contentedly at the meal, thanking her Nora immediately leapt back up into her game, noticing one of the Grimm she was holding hostage beginning to crawl away. Yang starting a conversation before Blake could open her book, and Weiss and Ren talking about how the meal had compared to some of the fine cuisine they had have. Apparently, anyway. It was really more Weiss talking and Ren patiently listening.

Ruby tapped Jaune on the shoulder. Her face was solemn, something remarkably rare for the girl.

"Hey. We need to talk."


	9. Does anyone read these titles? Not me

**So... this chapter is kinda dark, vastly different from the last. It might not be clear, so I will just clarify here: Everything bar the first scene is a flashback.**

**Some of these will include some of Jaune/Jeanne's sisters, but worry not! They won't be characterised, and only one is named: Blanc (White is French). Jaune's name is _literally _yellow, so I just used that. They won't be recurring characters, this story isn't about them.**

**On a slightly more important note, this story is going on a temporary hiatus :/**

**For the same reasons that the updates have gotten less frequent, more short... and kinda shit.**

**I have way too many projects going on right now, so I'm going to dedicate a few weeks solidly to each of them. Hopefully, I can get a few finished, which will let me dedicate a lot more time and energy, and thought, to this story. **

**Sorry about that. But to compromise, once I get back, updates will be weekly until the story is finished :D**

* * *

"What is up?" Jaune replied calmly.

Ruby averted her gaze slightly. "It's, um…" Ruby stopped herself and sighed.

"Just be blunt, if you are having trouble wording it."

"You know the Vytal festival? Um… I was planning to enter the tournament. Do you think I'm good enough to give it a shot?"

Jaune was slightly taken aback. Ruby had never been worried about her capabilities before, but thinking back on it… Jaune actually couldn't remember Ruby having lost before. Had it really had that big of an impact on her self esteem?

"Why are you asking me, of all people? Why not your teammates?"

"Because I know you'll give me your honest opinion. Yang would support me no matter what, Weiss wouldn't take me seriously and Blake… isn't very talkative. Plus, you beat me so easily…"

Jaune placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, wether or not you enter the tournament shouldn't be influenced by others. I know you're one of the best fighters in the first year, but the tournament isn't meant to be about winning or losing. Sure, people get really competitive, but the most important questions to ask yourself is this; will you enjoy yourself if you fight in the tournament? Because if so, regardless of the outcome, that is what matters.

You'll be fighting any students from any age level and any school, so victory shouldn't be your priority. No matter how hard you train, It's practically unheard of for a first year to actually win, but year after year dozens of teams participate, because of just that. think of it as a chance for you to test yourself against someone with years of experience you don't have, who entirely outclasses you because of it. Fighting them will teach you more than dozens of spars against your team or friends, but you're practically guaranteed to lose. Ultimately, it's up to you.

Jaune felt a stab of pain in her forehead and flinched, feeling a pressure on her shoulder.

"Jeanne, are you okay?" Ruby asked, worried.

"I'm fine, I just…"

Jaune grunted slightly, the pain coming back sharply. A chill swept over her, and when she looked up at Ruby, the girl was frozen in place. A leaf hung besides her head, levitating in mid-air. Clearly her semblance, but Jaune hadn't used it, so why had it just suddenly activated? This kind of thing usually only happen when people first got their semblances.

Jaune tried to take a step forward, but instead found herself falling face first towards the ground. Shutting her eyes just before impact, she was surprised when it never came, instead leaving her floating about and inch above the ground. She reached down and steadied herself with her forearms, gradually moving to her feet.

"ARGH!" Jaune yelled in pain, feeling what felt like a stab of lightning to the chest. Spasms of agony raced down her nerves like a current, driving her back to her knees. She tried to get her arms in the way, but found her arms unresponsive. Even as she collided painfully with the ground, her aura seemingly absent, she couldn't move a muscle.

Her vision started to blur, flashing black, with buildings that hadn't been there before appearing until it was almost like she was seeing two places at ones. And then her vision cut out entirely, and all she could feel was a dull ache in her chest.

* * *

Jeanne was flung to the side, and crashed painfully into a tree. Her back began aching, even as she bounced off and fell to the ground. She got back up slowly, trying to steady herself, even as she began looking for her wooden practice blade, which had been flung from her hands upon impact. Just as she spotted it, her opponent's foot crashed into the ground besides it, with a loud thump.

Her opponent bent down and picked it up, throwing it lightly to her, and she caught it easily.

"You're getting better, Jeanne!" Her sister said cheerfully. Jeanne merely nodded that the praise, resuming her stance and panting heavily.

"Again? Ugh, fine. You never did know when to quit," Her sister replied with a smirk. Aura flaring, Jeanne leapt at her target, who took a step backwards and knocked aside her sword with her empty hand. Growling in annoyance, Jeanne used her momentum to keep going, spinning and slashing at chest height. This time, the point of her opponent's sword was flung up, knocking her attack in a way that had it harmlessly fly above her sister's head.

Twisting, Jeanne sent a kick at her sister's ankle, who once again stepped back casually, leaning away from the follow up swing Jeanne had throw. It missed her so slimly that Jeanne was almost positive it had touched fabric.

Taking a gambit, Jeanne dropped her sword mid swing, catching it in her left hand and tried to stab at her sister, whose blade knocked it aside effortlessly. Jeanne pivoted on her foot, spinning with her momentum and trying to elbow her sister in the face, only for a narrow duck to render it useless.

Flipping her sword into a reversed grip, Jeanne spun and slashed at her sister once more, letting it flow into a smooth stab after her sister's expected step backwards. Much to her surprise, her sister caught the stab on her own training blade, and a shard of her wooden sword chipped off, meaning there was no longer any point. Jeanne was now wielding what amounted to a rectangular twig.

Jeanne sighed in annoyance, throwing her useless weapon to the side, and walking over to the bin filled with practice swords. Usually there would only be a few, but at the rate, Jeanne was breaking them, her family had procured more. Apparently, Jeanne was unnaturally strong.

Her sister lightly chuckled, infuriating Jeanne further. For some reason, she found it absolutely hilarious that Jeanne kept shattering them. Stepping back towards her, the two circled each other slowly. They alternated who was attacking and who was defending each time they took even a slight break, and it was Jeanne's turn to defend.

This was, of course, for Jeanne's benefit though; her sister was a decade older, in her mid-twenties, and a fully licensed Huntress. She was currently recuperating from an injury she'd gotten on one of her missions, and was the only person reliably around enough to help Jeanne, even if she had to hold back her… everything.

Moving sluggishly and heavily favouring one leg, Jeanne's oldest sister began to make her way towards her. A languid swing came hurtling towards Jeanne's head, and she raised her own blade to intercept. Only for her sister to kick her lightly in the shin, causing her to lose her balance, and be knocked over from the subsequent blow to her sword.

"You're being too narrow minded. Most opponents will try to draw your attention to a single place, but you should always be aware of, and keep in sight anything that could be used to harm you. In most situations it's better to not fight at all, than to fight on your opponent's conditions."

Jeanne accepted the advice without argument; her sister was almost always right about this kind of thing. Jeanne took a few steps back and resumed her pose; steady stance, with her sword held parallel to the ground at shoulder height, facing her enemy with a two handed grip.

Her sister smirked, and Jeanne saw a slight flash of white light as her sister flared her aura to enhance her physical attributes, and reinforce her weapon. Faster than Jeanne could follow, she materialised besides her and hit her in the gut, sending her flying back a few meters and knocking the air out of her. Jeanne didn't even grunt, merely getting back up and bracing herself to fight until her sister shook her head.

"That was meant to signify sparring being over. Sorry, kiddo," Her sister said unapologetically, ruffling Jeanne's hair. Her sister knew she hated that. "Your muscles are literally shaking from exhaustion and you can barely stand. I know you're eagre because you finished your weapon, but your aura isn't fully developed yet. You can't push yourself too hard or you won't be recovered properly by the next day. Spending a few extra minutes one day isn't worth missing a whole day of training. Pace yourself. Even with aura you can only heal so quickly."

Jeanne grunted, waving her hand dismissively.

"I am fine. I will not make progress without substantial amounts of effort, at least early on."

Her sister sighed, used to her stubbornness. It was endearing, but could be terribly frustrating.

* * *

Jeanne's eyes were wide, even as she felt tears spring up in response to the pain. Yet she refused to blink, was unable to. She was frozen in place, shaking. Her legs were numb, but even if she'd been able to move she wouldn't have. So in stead she sat there in terror, unable to comprehend the sight before her.

It was her house. Her sisters had all been down to visit. Her parents had both been home from work, a rare occasion. Her grandmother was staying to help with the house, which had been the residence for eleven people.

And it was being consumed by a raging inferno.

Jeanne had just gone for a walk around the family grounds because she'd been restless. She'd spotted a man in a weird mask, and had quickly recognised it as belonging to a member of the White Fang, and she'd hurried home. Her family would've known what to do.

Instead, she'd arrived just in time to see a massive fire erupt.

She'd tried to force open the doors, even slashing at them with Cruentus Mors, even trying to use her Semblance. Nothing had worked. As the fire grew brighter and brighter, she instinctively felt at a certain point… that her family were dead. She'd collapsed to her knees, even as the fire raged on, burning away everything she'd once held precious bar what she'd taken with her.

The White Fang… they had done this. She didn't know why… the Arcs were notorious for their legacy of helping all without bias. But still, they were knights loyal to their country. Perhaps that had been enough.

Much to her surprise, she saw a snowflake drift past her face. It wasn't winter, and it took her a moment to realise just what had caused it. Another drifted past, and she followed it up to it's origin. Her sister Blanc's room. Her semblance let her control the weather: a somewhat comical ability in theory, but incredibly useful in practice. She had likely used it to try and survive the fire.

The window had cracked, and something hung out of it. An arm. A charred arm, entirely black and being consumed by the fire.

Her sister's arm.

Jeanne covered her mouth and averted her gaze back to the ground, trying to contain her stomach, only for the wind to change direction. Bringing with it the stench of burning flesh, and causing her to lose her dinner. By the time she had finished retching, she noticed the air filling with smoke, and coughed.

Sparing one last glance at her house, she saw a wall begin collapsing, and turned and ran. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was barely able to breathe or see. She tripped over and root and was sent sprawling, but quickly got back to her feet and kept on her way. She used her aura to push herself faster and faster. The tears weren't entirely because of the smoke, either. Her mind kept replaying the image of her sister's arm.

Jeanne cried out, and kept running.

* * *

Jeanne made her way over to a nearby tree stump, sitting down on it and whistling to herself. She lifter her sword up from the ground, and picked up a stone from the ground to begin working out the minute scratches that coated her blade, each a mark of a successful block, and many having saved her life.

She continued whistling, as the ran the stone gently back and forth across the blade, quickly getting rid of what little damage had been done during the fight, all the while keeping a lookout for movement.

The field she was in was mostly barren, except for the tree stump she now sat on, and there was a faint chill in the air, with fog rising up in the distance. The sun was barely visible, and it was quite the pleasant morning. It was just cold enough to not be hot, but not cold enough to be properly cold.

And this kept her smiling, even throughout the menial task that was weapon maintenance. Although to be honest, even under normal circumstances she enjoyed weapon maintenance. It was… soothing, and she liked keeping her sword in top shape.

Jeanne saw a flash of movement, and absentmindedly threw the rock she had been using. The rock hit her target with a loud snap, and the figure that had been rising let out a pained screech and dropped to the ground, presumably dead.

Jeanne smiled to herself, having confirmed her blade was back in top shape, and looked around to study her handiwork. All of the remaining figures were dead, that she was sure of, so it was a job well done.

To her left hundreds upon hundreds of fired bullets lay on the ground, scattering across the vast plain for some while. To her right lay weapons cleaved violently in two, many of the fragments sticking out of their former owners, who lay in various pained poses.

Jeanne felt something drip onto her exposed leg from her sword and scowled, quickly wiping off the blood. She did not have anything to clean her sword with, and the grass was far too short, so she supposed she would just have to deal with the occasional blood spatter.

She slung the sword over her shoulder casually, still humming, and stood up slowly, which seemed rather out of place given the massacre around her. However, she felt no remorse, nor any reason to show those animals around her any respect.

She began gradually meandering back, taking off her helmet and enjoying the feeling of the faint breeze on her face. She sighed in pleasure. Sometimes the simplest things in life were the loveliest.

Stepping over the body of the figure she had thrown as stone at, she felt it reach up and grip her armoured leg. She sighed. Jeanne had been sure that shattering that Faunus's skull would have killed it, but apparently, this one was particularly resilient.

"W-wh… why?" The Faunus grumbled out. Jeanne did not respond. She knew why she was doing it, and there was no point of her telling a corpse her motivations. The military had asked her to clear them out, so she would. Who was she to question her superior officers?

Her foot came down with a loud crunch, and she felt the remnants of the Faunus's skull shatter beneath her. She continued walking without missing a pace, wiping her foot on the grass in annoyance, trying to get the brain matter off her armour. If she left it too long, it could stain.

Then again, if it stained it would make a fairly awesome colour. Jeanne shrugged slightly, continuing on her casual walk out of the plain. If anything, she should just be happy that the mission was over. It had been fun at first, but had quickly gotten boring. After all, low-level members of the White Fang were not very good at fighting. They were basically civilians.

Jeanne yawned slightly and stretched her arms, before continuing to whistle. She glanced behind her to make sure that the White Fang hideout had sufficient fuel to burn in its entirety, even though she knew she didn't need to check. But still, better safe than sorry.

Jeanne heard a faint scream from inside. She shrugged mentally. Clearly she had missed a few Faunus, and she heard loud banging on the door as they tried to force it open. She smiled maliciously, chuckling lightly as their screams became even more pained and desperate as they realised the door wouldn't budge, and that the few parts they broke were blocked by a layer of metal.

It had been convenient that there had been a forklift nearby, and it had been just the right size to block out the door, too. Fate truly was smiling on her. It had been a while since she had last had this much… fun, and even better, it was for a good cause!

So Jeanne continued smiling as she walked casually away from the building. After all, she still had three more known White Fang base locations to go, although this was by far the largest.

Still, today was going to be a good day.

Oh, she loved this job.


End file.
